


Sometimes Things Have To Get Worse Before They Get Better

by SilentPrincess17



Series: Sometimes It Takes Losing It All, To Gain Everything You Deserve [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Allll the Zelink, Alternate take on Memory #7 - Blades of the Yiga, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Heavy Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Link's POV, Mutual Pining, Ngl I think the Yiga Clan would pack a bit more punch, Pining, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Slow Burn, So here's the consequence of that, Some fluff intermixed because I am incapable of writing pure angst, This was for dark prompts btw so it gets worse before it gets better, This was initially meant to be a prompt fic but then it really grew, each chapter will have its own warnings, more so understanding enemies?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:42:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 42,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28372569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentPrincess17/pseuds/SilentPrincess17
Summary: Link and Zelda have returned from Vah Naboris with Urbosa and have spent the night in Kara Kara Bazaar Inn.Link wakes up and finds her missing.Cue the angst.Link was having a bad morning. He’d missed breakfast, a cardinal sin, and now he was anxiously darting around the Bazaar, weaving between the trees, in an attempt to see if he could spot a glimmer of blonde hair or a flash of a blue shirt.Shejust hadto run away. Again.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Zelink - Relationship
Series: Sometimes It Takes Losing It All, To Gain Everything You Deserve [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130516
Comments: 150
Kudos: 272





	1. Everything goes wrong when you don't have breakfast

**Author's Note:**

> Hello people! I needed a break from my long fic, so instead tried to write prompts but that ended up being really long too so... clearly I am incapable of writing short things. 
> 
> No warnings for chapter 1- this is simply Link angsting whilst trying to locate Zelda.

Link was having a bad morning. He’d missed breakfast, a cardinal sin, and now he was anxiously darting around the Bazaar, weaving between the trees, in an attempt to see if he could spot a glimmer of blonde hair or a flash of a blue shirt. 

She _just had_ to run away. Again. 

He sighed. It wasn’t that hard to understand why she constantly gave him the slip, even if he wished she didn’t. He knew it wasn’t fair of him to think such things, especially when he knew it wasn’t really _him_ , she was running from, rather it the sword that was strapped to his back. It wasn’t him she was frustrated with, it was _herself_. And the sword symbolised how he was apparently fulfilling his destiny and his side of things, whilst she struggled endless with the stone-cold Hylia and had nothing to show for it. Essentially, the sword meant destiny and fate had already set out a predetermined plan for her, and she was currently set for failure. So yes, he could understand why she felt the need to escape what was surely a suffocating sight every day- the boy with the sword that has it all sorted, geared and ready to go, whilst she stumbled in the dark, Hylia’s Divine Blessing evading her.

If only she knew how much he struggled too. He didn’t just pull a sword out a rocky pedestal and _boom_ morphed into Hyrule’s Saviour. He’d trained long and hard too. And frankly, he had felt compelled to draw the sword, it hadn’t been something that was in his control- if he had a choice, then he would also choose to just leave it be in the Lost Woods. It sounded naive and foolish now, but he hadn’t anticipated what the consequences would be when twelve-year-old Link had jumped up and wrapped his hands around that cursed mauve handle. Mostly, the thing he regretted the most about pulling the sword was that he’d effectively doomed them all. Did he want to be the one to basically foreshadow what was now surely coming? No. Another was that it had put a timer on the Princess to find her powers, and he didn’t want to cause her such anguish at being unable to unlock supposed birth-right sealing powers that she clearly didn’t have and didn’t know how to obtain. But… there had been a hidden consequence, one that he couldn’t for the life of him have predicted- when he released the sword from the pedestal, it didn’t just end with him now possessing the mythical legendary blade, oh no. He’d also obtained a whole wealth of memories, memories of past lives, past successes, past failures, and he’d lost whatever childish innocence he’d had then. And it crushed him, having this soul that apparently was doomed in this endless fight, and now he had to live up to them. He had to live up to these past Heroes and by Farore he had no idea if he’d be able to. 

Every word that had come out of the Princess’s mouth at his blessing ceremony had cleaved him in two. All those past disastrous events that happened in Hyrule, and all the lengths his predecessors had gone to save the country… Adrift in time indeed. IN TIME. How was he supposed to do the same? And it made him fearful. And he was not easily frightened. He liked to think he was a little bit brave, he would run headfirst into any sort of challenge, be that eating rocks, defeating hordes of monsters, including Lynels, or even redirecting errant guardian laser beams but when he thought about what those Heroes had gone through… He certainty didn’t feel very brave when it came to imagining what exactly he’d have to do, what trials he would have to face, in line with theirs. 

He finally finished strapping the sword properly to his back, he’d ran out as soon as he realised she was missing, and he tried to find any distinguishing patterns of her boots nearby. It was a useless venture, because sand shifted, constantly, and as a result any tracks were lost pretty much as soon as they formed. He sighed, deciding to do another very quick run through the Bazaar in case anyone else had spotted her, or she had come back from the baths maybe. He was clutching at straws, he knew it, and he felt that familiar churning feeling in his gut that something was wrong, but he decided to keep calm and check again just in case he’d missed something. 

He sighed, even before Urbosa told him how the Princess’s behaviour was in fact coloured by the sword, he could have guessed. One of the biggest signs was that she always looked at it, instead of him. He only wished to tell her that he was just as lost as she was, because yeah sure, ~~everyone~~ Impa stated that he had the Sword that Seals The Darkness. Okay, but how did it do that? How does one go about _killing darkness_? Monsters he knew. Monsters he’d trained for. But darkness? And the thing that frightened him the most was that most of the past Heroes had fought a man. A power-obsessed, strong-willed and formidable opponent, but still, fundamentally, a _man_. None of them had fought this… _Calamity_ equivalent that he seemed to be up against. Hence why he was uncertain, and fearful even, if the sword would be enough.

Not to mention how much it pained him that the arrogant idiot bird had managed to find his greatest insecurity, but that was neither here nor there. 

But in truth, every time someone mentioned how he was their savour he wanted to cry. Perhaps she didn’t realise that whilst everyone had pinned her as a hopeless case and a lost cause, he’d been saddled with double the expectations to succeed. So much pressure, so many eyes, that he’d all but gone silent. Every word spoken could be misconstrued in some shape or form. Nothing he said was ever safe from scrutiny, so to continue to play the perfect, composed Hero that he was supposed to be, he decided to stop talking. What he wouldn’t give to explain to her that these praises that were lavished on him made him feel sick. Made him feel suffocated. Made him like a liar. Because really, he felt like a failure too- he had no plan other than maybe try and hit _the darkness_ with _the sword_ and hope that works. And the foreboding feeling he had that he hadn’t yet faced the supposedly impending huge trial that most of the other Heroes had, and they had all done said trial _well before they obtained_ the Master Sword. He felt unworthy of it, somehow. All he’d done was train hard, fight and try to eradicate the plague of monsters in the land. He hadn’t travelled through time, he hadn’t transformed into a wolf, he hadn’t lost his sister, or his best friend. Hence why he was dreading meeting Ganon. There was a catch somewhere. He could feel it. 

He exhaled heavily, sweat starting to build on his brow. This was why he wanted to tell Zelda that she wasn’t alone. That he knew what she was going through. They were a pair in destiny, fate… even souls after all. But she hated him, his very being, and probably wished he didn’t exist- no correction- she wished the sword didn’t exist, then he wouldn’t have pulled it and wouldn’t have become a direct comparator for her success. It all felt futile sometimes, and he wondered why exactly he was in such a melancholy mood this morning. Probably something to do with not eating. 

She wasn’t in the Bazaar. He’d now checked over every stall twice. And Link felt rising trepidation. Of all the places for her to run away, she’d chosen the desert. She’d chosen where the main dissenters of the Royal Family lived. She’d chosen the one place where it was highly probable that there would be an assassination attempt on her. And he wasn’t there to protect her. Link could freely admit to himself he was scared. What if he didn’t find her in time, what if – No. He had to think positively. And then his eyes fell to his Champion’s tunic, embroidered, as it was, by her hand. Goddesses above, how would he present himself back the Castle if he’d actually lost her this time? And in such a worrisome place too. A stone settled in Link’s gut, as he desperately racked his brains, replaying last night’s events trying to remember if she’d dropped any hints as to where she was going. 

He drew a big fat blank. 

In the name of Din, where else could she have gone? She had been silent on the way back from Vah Naboris, probably reproachful that he’d managed to find her, yet again. And he had, admittedly, found it suspicious that she’d remained mum, accepted going to the Bazaar, and sleeping in the Inn, and leaving to head to Goron City the next day without a single word of dissent. He should have known that she was planning something. 

And now, it was starting to get hot, as he quickly ran off towards the path, wondering if she’d gone back to Gerudo Town. But she’d already said her goodbyes to Urbosa last night... Link sighed, the heat already causing his tunic to stick to his back. It was a desert after all, one couldn’t expect it to get cold during the day, and he hadn’t had time to fill in their canteens, and oh for the love of Farore could he at least get a single sign as to where Her Highness had deigned to grace her presence at. He didn’t want to be beheaded for incompetence so soon. 

He saw a small cloud of sand rise in the distance. At this point, it could be a mirage and he was seeing something that his mind had conjured in desperation at trying to find the missing Princess. 

And then he saw a flash of red. 

And his blood ran cold, despite the heat.


	2. Ambushed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Descriptions of blood, wounds and death.  
> Also: there is a spoiler for one of the side quests in AOC (one of the things Link does for Zelda) and it's in the third paragraph before the last one so it's nearly at the end.

Link ran, sprinting through the sand, his boots coughing up a flurry of grains, sword already pulled out in his hand, pulsing as it recognised his anxiety.

A ball of fear erupted in his chest, and suddenly Link found his mouth dry and unable to swallow. He couldn’t deny it to himself then, it wasn’t just duty that motivated his actions. Hell, this-this need to protect her… It felt like something he’d always done, an innate instinct. Something deeper than his vows as her Knight tied him to her, probably something to do with his past lives, but he didn’t know how to explain it, and really, it scared him, sometimes, this urge that he had little control over. A lot of things scared him about the sword actually, and he wondered just how separate he truly was from it sometimes. 

Despite running flat out, he was still a considerable distance away, but even from here, he could tell, it wasn’t looking good. She had run, valiantly, but there were two of them up ahead of her, he couldn’t make out just yet what Yiga Clan member they were, but he could see the Yiga Foot soldier behind her. And crap, she’d slipped and fallen, and Farore, just – just a few more seconds and he’d make it. 

_Please, please, please._

His heart thundered in his chest; his hands icy cold, clammy around the handle of his sword. 

The three Yiga Foot soldiers approached her, okay, okay, this wasn’t good, no, they had Vicious Sickles, but he had the Sword That Seals The Darkness, and what better definition of darkness than the Yiga Clan, he would make it-

Spirits

Three Yiga Blademaster’s poofed into existence beside the Foot soldiers, and together they slashed their windcleavers, aimed at his Princess’s throat. 

**NO**.

Link jumped, sliced the first Foot Soldier in the chest, blood spurting outwards and he nimbly twisted to avoid it landing on him, and then aimed for the first Blademaster. Just before his blade hit that idiot’s neck, the other two began to laugh. The sickening Yiga Clan laugh that was so incredibly patronising, and Link was already feeling bad enough this morning and he had little patience left. 

“Not so fast, Hero.” The Blademaster in the centre clicked his fingers and another three appeared behind the Princess, all of them pointing the tips of their windcleavers at her neck. 

Holy Hylia. There were now 5 blades aimed at her, one of them pressed closed enough that she couldn’t swallow without fear of drawing blood. And he couldn’t bring himself to actually look at her, the one glance he’d had would forever scar him, she looked downright petrified. The sight made his blood boil, the sword glowed blue, but he had to be logical. 

It wouldn’t do to attack the one whose neck was under his sword only for the other five to behead the Princess. Yes, he was fast. Yes, he was blessed with rapid reflexes. But even he recognised it would be impossible to eliminate all five without one of them harming the Princess before he finished. It would take seconds for them to nick her carotid artery, whilst he needed to slice through five necks. This would have been so much easier if she wasn’t in the middle of the fray. A simple charged sword attack aimed in the air would have exterminated the lot. He also couldn’t help but curse himself because he’d been an idiot and forgotten his bow, he hadn’t picked it up in all the rush of Zelda disappearing and now he severely regretted it. What he wouldn’t have done for a few electric arrows right now. He would have shocked the life out of them with all their metal weaponry. 

“There’s too many of us, _Hero_ , with too many swords at the ready to behead this pretty little blond thing. We only really have an issue with her Royal Holiness here, for she supposedly holds the power to seal away our God.” He laughed, “Although she isn’t that Holy, is she, eh boys?”

They all broke out into laughter, and Link decided that was the best opportunity he was going to get. He stabbed the sword into the first Yiga Blademaster’s neck, a fountain of red erupted out, just as Link shoved his body towards one of the remaining Foot Soldiers, who got trapped underneath the sheer dying bulk of the man. He rolled, pulling the Princess down so she was out of direct range of those windcleavers, and then he unceremoniously chucked her towards the opening he’d just created. She seemed to get the message and started to run, whilst he began to dance with his sword. 

Move one to the jugular vein, two to the heart plus some ribs, three a large spin attack against the last Foot Soldier and three Blademasters who lunged at him, but he only belatedly realised one of them didn’t have a weapon, had they used the sickle as a boomerang? He distantly felt a muscle spasm, but that didn’t distract him, no, he ploughed through with the movement, effectively plunging the sword through the layers of skin, muscle and fat, and he leapt out of the resulting crimson blood spray that blended in with their armour. He had to admit, even if he wasn’t comfortable with the whole context of the sword and the trauma of seeing everything they had gone through, it was a beautiful blade. The best he’d ever had the honour of wielding. 

His focus was shattered, suddenly, as he heard a painfully familiar scream, was it a memory or – no. That was His Zelda. He belatedly realised the last Yiga Foot soldier hadn’t remained trapped. He’d chased after the Princess and he had three darts pressed her abdomen, hard enough that she was whimpering, with his sickle wrapped around her neck, the curved edge milliseconds from ending her life. She had one hand alternating between trying to claw the mask off the Yiga’s face to ineffectively grasping at his hand wielding the sickle, the other outstretched to him, and it broke him a little. 

His heart ached, his pulse thundering hard in his ears, because she was too far away for him to jump to her, too far to do anything without a damn bow. The bodies that littered the floor, and the blood that coated the sand around him weren’t enough, the one that remained would kill her, before he could do anything. Of that he had no doubt. 

“Lay down your sword. And you may leave with your life. We do not care for the Hero, you’re simply a vessel for the Hero’s spirit and even if we kill you, you’ll just come back in some other lowlife’s body. We only care for the supposedly High Priestess Hylian Princess Zelda and the Sword that Seals the Darkness. Without those two, Hyrule will be blessed by Calamity Ganon’s unbridled power!” 

He hesitated, and in that one second another four Yiga Blademasters appeared behind him, “DO NOTHING **Hero**. Remember what position your darling Princess is in.” The Foot soldier tightened his hold on Zelda and pressed the blade deeper into her skin and it cut into her neck, causing a small line of blood to leak down the blade. 

That was the tipping point, Link saw red, and howled, hurling the Master Sword so that it pierced that wretched mask, straight into the bastard’s eye, and swung down with gravity to cut through his face.

And he turned around to face those remaining Yiga Blademaster’s with his bare hands, but instead he smelt the familiar incense of cool saffilina, which rang alarm bells in his head, this was used as a sleeping drought. He couldn’t do much more than gasp before a towel was rammed into his face, and he struggled against it, but suddenly the smell became so much more concentrated. He blinked, trying his hardest not to breathe, but the haze that descended on his mind regardless meant it was far, _far_ more potent than the one he’d made for Zelda. 

All of a sudden, he felt disturbingly dizzy, his legs like jelly underneath him. His eyelids abruptly felt incredibly heavy- he closed his eyes almost unwittingly, and then struggled to open them again. He barely managed to open one flimsily, and he saw vague red shapes ensnaring his Princess and all he could do was fall to the floor on his knees, shameful that he’d failed her.

She was screaming his name, and all he could do was raise a pitiful arm out to her, before he succumbed, and all he saw was black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no. 
> 
> Well, on a happier note: Happy New Year everyone!


	3. So what do we do now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams, new understandings and a plan. Maybe. 
> 
> Basically: here's the fluffy counterpart to the last chapter.

Link awoke and immediately questioned it, because he felt like he was still dreaming, in a Castle Courtyard where, as a child he’d snuck through a small canal to get in to see the Princess, and as an adult he’d waltzed in as Captain of the Guards. Because he could hear _her_ lullaby. It had been so long… He slowly opened his eyes, disorientated because he was staring into the familiar vivid green eyes of His Princess, not the blue of other, so she wasn’t _her_ , and he wasn’t _him_ , but the lullaby? And she was smiling at him, albeit weakly. What- smiling? His Princess? At him?! What had happened?

There was more to add to his confusion though, because _**she** was humming_. She was the one humming the lullaby, but it wrong, because it wasn’t _her_ lullaby, but really who was he to say otherwise, it probably was the lullaby for all the Princesses named Zelda. It- it was achingly familiar, but disturbing because all the times felt wrong and messed up. This wasn’t _his_ , this wasn’t meant to comfort _him_ , but it was anyway. 

But why was he –

He blinked, waking up properly this time. He suddenly realised where he was exactly. He was in the Princess of Hyrule’s lap. His head was resting on her thighs. She was stroking his hair. His ponytail was gone. She was humming her lullaby to him. And she wasn’t angry at him. 

Everything about this situation screamed wrong. 

And then it all came hurtling back, and Link felt like he’d been stabbed all over with those darts the Yiga had aimed at her stomach. They’d been captured by the Yiga. _Goddesses above._ He rapidly sat up and felt a burst of pain all the way across his right shoulder and down his arm, and his vision swam, from the remaining drug in his system or from the pain he didn’t know. 

“Link! Don’t get up so fast you-”

She gently pulled on his good arm, and he didn’t put up much resistance, mainly because it felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He felt so disjointed, and he knew this was wrong, but he wasn’t feeling well enough to protest. 

And okay, maybe he was a little glad she didn’t seem to hate him anymore. _Just a little_.

He raised his eyebrows at her, hoping she’d understand. She did. “After they drugged you asleep, because I guess they figured they’d never beat you otherwise, they did the same for me- I got caught barely a few metres from where you fell. And then I presume we both got carted to their Hideout. I woke up before you because I had a lower dose, and I, um, well.”

She awkwardly pointed to his right shoulder. “You know, I’m no Mipha, and it’s not like we have any healing resources, but I needed to close your wound in case it got infected- I believe they wrenched the sickle out of you before they dumped us in here. And I thought it best to at least try to sew it together whilst you were asleep and couldn’t feel much. It, went well, surprisingly- you didn’t bleed excessively considering they removed the object that was effectively acting as a tamponade, but I think because it landed squarely in your trapezius, it didn’t hit any major blood supplies, thankfully. I cleaned it as best as I could. And it was a good thing I had my mini sewing supplies in my pocket, Urbosa’s skirt had a small cut she wanted me to- uh- never mind. It was lucky that I forgot to put the kit in my pouch, which they took so.” 

She paused, “Anyway, just as I put in the last stitch, thinking I could, maybe, relax a little, you started to thrash around, flailing all your limbs everywhere. With hindsight, I think the draught was fading by that point…” She took a short, sharp breath, “And I obviously couldn’t risk you ripping the wound open so in an attempt to calm you I held your head down and started humming and it, uh, worked. So that is why. I was. Doing that.” She fisted her hands awkwardly, bunching the material of her shirt in her hands, between her fractured phrases. Her eyes flittered around, looking everywhere but him. “And I didn’t want you to open that wound again, we don’t have many supplies so, so I guided you to lie down again.” She was clearly uncomfortable. And was that- Farore. She was _blushing_ , he realised. Because of him. 

That felt incredibly wrong, no Princess should ever blush at her _Knight_ , so he readied himself to move off her and give her some much needed space.

He nodded, putting her out of her misery before sitting up much more slowly this time. He looked over his shoulder trying to see how bad the wound was, but she’d done an excellent job in sewing him up. Perhaps the embroidery skills she’d learnt were amenable to medical stiches too. He scooted away from her, trying to clear his head a little, and forget how comfortable it felt. How much he’d enjoyed her deft fingers working through his hair. How she'd still smelled of lavender, honey and just a hint of Gerudo spice –

He shook his head, clearly, he was still somewhat delusional following the heady sleeping draught. He needed to apologise to her and he needed to try to find a way to get out. He suddenly remembered her neck, and he dashed over, scanning across her whole body quickly, trying to see if she was okay and if any other wounds had been inflicted on her whilst he was asleep. 

“Link!”

What? He had to- why was she bending her neck? He could guess why, and his gut twisted on itself. He’d let her get hurt. He hesitantly raised his hand, and placed it close to her chin, not quite touching, but Zelda tracked his movement and slowly nodded. He ever so gently touched the tips of his fingertips onto her jaw, and pressed upwards and she elongated her neck in compliance. 

He gasped. She’d wiped it down, but there was a red, clearly inflamed, scabbed over, _curved_ , line across her neck. He screwed his eyes shut, half wanting to throw up, even though he knew he had nothing in his stomach. He couldn’t look at her, this was his fault, he’d allowed her to get hurt. Some Appointed Knight he was. 

He was so lost in cursing himself and his inability to protect her that he missed her hand moving and pressing down on his own, still softly holding her jaw. His eyes flew open at _that_ , but he still couldn’t meet her gaze, looking everywhere but her. “Link.” He knew what she was going to say, and he didn’t want to hear it. It was his fault.

“Link, look at me.” 

He couldn’t deny an order from his Princess. 

“It wasn’t your fault. You were not the one to draw the sickle against me, okay?” He reluctantly nodded, seeing where she was coming from. “If anything, it was mine for running away. And I should be the one apologising, because you got hurt- and your wound is much more severe compared to this simple scab that will heal with time. And that’s notwithstanding the whole infection risk of using embroidery thread and not actual medical sutures.” 

She sighed, patting the ground next to her. He reluctantly let go of her and sat down as she wished, his vision swirled a little, from all the abrupt movement. 

She fiddled with her fingers, before turning to him, a determined look in her eyes. “I truly am sorry Link. For- for everything. From running away all those times, to being childishly jealous of you and your success, to… even shouting at you.” She sighed, “Not to mention taking out all my petty frustrations on you, whilst you were only trying to do your job. For, well, letting you get hurt because of me. For ending up here…” She shoved her head in her hands. “Goddesses above, the list never ends. I-” 

Her voice went quiet. “I apologise, Link, for not being the Princess you deserve.”

He was shocked. He hadn’t been expecting that to say the least. Words had never been his forte, so he did the best he could. 

He tenderly tilted her head towards him, and then shook his head. The vulnerability he saw in those verdant eyes struck him. She was serious, she genuinely regretted it, and he tried to smile reassuringly. How could he ever remain upset with her anyway? Not when he understood and related to her so well. 

He placed his other hand on his heart and bent his head towards her. “You accept? No, you forgive me? So easily? No, I insist you give some punishment Link.” 

He chuckled, shaking his head as he raised both hands up, shrugging slightly. He was never one for punishments and he forgave her, because he understood, he truly did. He just needed to think through his words, and he’d tell her properly.

“You're too kind. I'll find a way, to earn my forgiveness, even if you've already accepted. Although... perhaps being here is punishment enough.” She hugged her knees to her chest, and he closed his eyes for a second, just trying to get his bearings. He still felt dizzy and sitting up so fast as soon as he had woken up, and then rushing to Zelda to look over her had not helped matters. Most likely, this was due to a side effect from inhaling such a high concentration of the drought. He’d have to wait for a bit before moving again, and he spread his palms out on the ground next to his thighs to try to get over the remaining queasiness, keeping his eyes shut so he wouldn’t be further disorientated. 

He felt her slip her hand just next to his, her pinkie finger barely touching his thumb. 

And Link felt his heart speed up a little. He couldn’t help but feel pleased they’d finally made some progress and were no longer at odds with each other. For the first time, the silence that descended on them was a comfortable one, not fraught with tension like every other time they’d been left alone together. And for that, he was immeasurably glad.

* * *

After taking a few minutes to recover his bearings, Link slowly opened his eyes, and was pleased to find his world was not tilting on its axis. He took several deep breaths, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his shoulder. 

Okay. He was ready now, to start thinking of a plan.

He motioned for Zelda to wait as he heaved himself to stand, very slowly. And nothing happened, everything was still balanced. Good. He headed over to the bars, first, before realising they were made, in fact, of fairly hardy steel and it wasn’t at all rusted. There would be no hope of breaking them directly, not by hand anyway. And where was the door? He belated realised the metal on one side was different to the others. It was darker in shade. He flicked his index finger at it, but it came back just as hard and resonant. Well. Clearly whatever it was wouldn’t be easy to break either. He tried to stemmy the rising panic when thinking about how the hell they were supposed to break out. He moved to the bottom of the bars, but it became rapidly obvious to him that the mongrels had drilled the bars a significant distance down, too low for them to try to dig out. She shuffled over. 

“I had a quick check over the cell too, before, I um, realised that you were hurt. They sort of left you with your back to the wall, so I didn’t actually see the bleeding until I got up close and- well. You know the rest of it. There really isn’t much other than the toilet in the next cell that we can go into.” His eyes lit up, “But no, it’s the exact same thing as this one. More bars, just with a curtain for decency I guess.”

He decided to check everything anyway. Alas, it was an airtight cell. There wasn’t a single thing they could manipulate. Clearly the Yiga had been planning for this. 

He cast his eyes out, looking beyond the bars and realised that it in fact looked out to what seemed to be a gigantic circular hole in the sand. The landscape itself naturally moulded into a giant cylinder, perfect to keep the Yiga hidden, and impossible for them to climb out without being seen. If they could even get out of the cell to begin with. Although, eerily, everything seemed quiet. 

He turned back to Zelda, motioning to the space outside and then pointing to the banana symbol engraved in the wall. “I found it surprising too. I have no idea where they’ve gone. It’s all very calm. I’m not sure why... Well, this sounds morbid, but I don’t understand why they’ve kept me alive. Surely their intention was to assassinate, and yet, now we’re locked up, and they haven’t come yet. Although I can only assume this is a good thing, time to plan an escape… maybe… well hopefully, anyway.”

He fought a smile off his face. She always did talk too much. Perhaps that was a good thing though, it balanced him out quite nicely. 

He sighed, moving to sit down again, it was best to conserve his strength. And looking at the red lanterns and those weird orange wooden planks linked to each other was freaking him out a little. He wasn't sure what the symbolism was, but he was wary. There wasn’t much else they could do, other than wait for one of the Yiga to come, and make the mistake of opening the door, then Link would go into hand combat, and they would have to scale the cliff out of the here. The section to the right actually appeared the least steep, so hopefully Zelda would be able to manage that. However, he could see the snow from here and that meant there was risk of hypothermia, and they didn't have their normal stock of elixirs. Goddesses above, his head hurt from thinking through all the ways this could go wrong.

“You’re looking at the end cliff face. Do you think-”

He nodded. 

“I think I can do it. Will you be okay with your wound?” 

He nodded again. 

She exhaled heavily, coming to sit down next to him. “The chance of a rescue team coming to find us is also depressingly slim, at the minute, because according to Urbosa, we’ve left the desert. According to my father, we’re in the process of travelling to the Spring of Power, and whilst we’re in the vicinity we’re supposed to go visit Daruk again to see if he’s has any progress with controlling Vah Rudania. Therefore, we are not due back at the Castle for another three weeks at least to account for travel time, so he won’t be suspicious of our continued absence. And Daruk thinks were going to Spring first and I don’t think he knows that you are only supposed to stay a day there- he might assume I’ve succeeded and so stayed for longer, or even that we were delayed in Gerudo Town…”

He nodded. Basically, all that meant external help was not coming any time soon. 

“How long do you think it’ll take them to realise we’ve been captured?”

He thought about it for a few seconds. It would take at least another two weeks for Daruk to realise something was up, and by the time he relayed that over to Urbosa and the King, it will have been at least three. And then they still needed to search over Hyrule as to where exactly the Princess and Link were, before tracking them down to the Kara Kara Bazaar Inn, and hopefully realising they were, in fact, abducted by the Yiga Clan. And as to the actual rescue itself, he doubted it would take more than a couple of days simply because it involved the Princess and the Hero - the two people who were truly capable of fighting the ever-approaching evil. So overall that was what? Four and a half weeks?

He held up four fingers. Best to not dash her hopes too much. 

“Hylia above! A month?!” She slumped against the wall. “I can see why though. It- it’s just so inconvenient that we decided to combine three separate outings into one. And that is why no one will actually realise we are in trouble.”

Link didn’t point out that this was, in fact, a common occurrence. The Princess often fabricated another couple of reasons to delay going back the Castle. He understood why of course. Facing her father with repeated failures was hard and being out in Hyrule meant she could at least be of some use in terms of her research. Frankly, if he’d been in her position, he would have done the same. 

“Another thing that I didn’t mention before, but you should probably know, is that they took the Sheikah Slate.”

Oh _crap_. Purah would kill them both, but she’d go all out on Link, fond as she was of Princess Zelda. She’d skewer him alive and then Robbie would sprinkle on his various guardian parts on top for seasoning and the two of them would roast him slowly for committing such a crime. And then they’d recover the guardian parts because those were precious and were not likely to burn, unlike his mortal form, into ashes anyway. Why was thinking of this and how did he come up with this much detail? 

He must have had a look of apt horror on his face because she chuckled slightly, “Yes, I know. Even if we survive this whole abduction, we will probably not live for long afterwards.” 

He shook his head. No, they would survive. He would make sure of it. She smiled a little in response. 

Something was unsettling him though. It felt like a there was a gnawing hole inside him. At first he thought it was because of Zelda getting hurt, and then because of his dizziness but it suddenly hit him what was missing. His heart skipped a beat in fear. He glanced over, looking at his shoulder again, in vain because he knew it was empty and the confirmation terrified him. He looked at her with wide eyes, not daring to think of the implications. “I- I don’t actually know what happened to the Master Sword, Link, it was – um, in that Yiga’s head and then I was knocked out. I don’t know if they took it, or left it behind…”

And there went Link’s last hope of killing the darkness.


	4. What happens in a desert at night? It gets cold. Exactly.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just pure fluff.
> 
> Enjoy, because the next is a-n-g-s-t-y

As night descended in the desert Link started to feel the chill. His wound throbbed annoyingly and normally by now he would have had at least a meal, if a healing potion wasn’t readily available, and he would be fit as a fiddle, with only a memory of the injury and its associated pain. But he hadn’t eaten a thing since last night, and his stomach had rumbled countless times throughout the evening until it just gave up, accepting its loss for the day. The other thing that was deeply disturbing him (other than the absence of the sword) was that his waist felt alarmingly bare without his pouches and he kept subconsciously trying to reach down and pull out some wood and a flint piece to build a fire, or any assortment of fruits he kept on hand, but he didn’t have anything. He mostly wished they’d at least let him keep the food pouch. 

He sighed. He needed to find a way to get them out of here, otherwise they’d develop dehydration within the next day, probably, as they were in the desert. Secondary to that would be starvation, tertiary, infection, oh no wait. He shuddered as an icy sharp breeze whistled through his tunic and seemingly straight into his newly-sealed wound. Hypothermia would be a contender too, made all too obvious by the shivering Princess next to him. 

She was his main concern, she always was. He thanked the Goddesses she at least had a thick starchy undershirt inside her blouse, which should help her keep warm, but those leggings were not as sturdy, and she kept on rubbing her calves together, no doubt trying to use friction to generate some heat. And she hadn’t eaten anything either, which made him feel doubly worse. Even when they were _fighting_ , she always appreciated the food he made.

In the end, he gave up, he didn’t know what else he could do to make the situation better, so, he pulled off his Champion’s Tunic and spread it across her legs. Yes, it was a little ripped and had a dribble of blood down the back where he’d been injured, but really it was the closest thing she’d get to a blanket, as the rags in the back of the cell were filthy and Goddesses knew what sort of infections they carried. 

She immediately protested as he assumed she would, “No Link! I can’t have you die of hypothermia! And you need to keep your wound warm.” She tried to shove it back into his hands. “Besides, I have a plan for how to get warm that doesn’t involve you stripping.” 

He blushed. He hadn’t meant –

She started to laugh, and he awkwardly fisted the shirt, pulling it on and then looking away from her deviously sparkling eyes. 

No chance of that happening though, because she shuffled closer. He’d kept his distance from her as was proper, up until now. He’d tried to separate them as much as he could, considering the cell itself wasn’t that large. But she got up and plopped down next to him with little decorum. She stayed like that for a while, their shoulders touching, and alarm bells began to ring in Link's head, as he wondered what exactly she had planned. She anxiously fisted her hands, before exhaling heavily, almost as though she was gathering her courage, and moved towards him, lifting his good arm over her so it was now draped over her shoulder. She shimmied a little closer still, and wrapped her arm across his back, making sure she was positioned below his injury, and she gently pressed her head into his shoulder. Link's heart rate shot up, because, essentially, the Princess of Hyrule was now unashamedly _hugging_ him. _Him_! Hylia above.

And whilst he stiffened, all his muscles tensed, his eyes wide with shock at her boldness, that move she just pulled did _wonders_ for Link’s temperature. He immediately felt like he’d arrived on Death Mountain, with no fireproof elixir. Oh yes, he was burning alive, and it felt _so good_ after the chilly breeze that nipped at his skin and seemingly inside his back with the fresh injury. But reality hit, and the impropriety, the improperness of this entire set up-

No, he couldn’t very well risk any harm to her reputation!

He tried to gently push her away- “Link, _will you stop moving_. It’s uncomfortable. And I know what you’re thinking of and its useless because who in this Goddess-forsaken cell will go and report to the King at how improper we’re being.” Well, that was true he supposed. He relaxed just a little, even if he was still somewhat hyperventilating over their current position. He felt her smile into his shoulder, and he had to refrain from doing something stupid like brush her hair behind her ear so he could see her better. “No one, exactly, so just, please-” she stopped, huffing angrily as if he was a stubborn gear that she just couldn’t place appropriately, “And it’s not like we’re actually doing this with any intention other than to avoid developing hypothermia. This is simply a _survival necessity_ Sir Link. Surely you can agree there.” 

Against his better judgement he did. There wasn’t much else they could do. And he could feel how cold she was, now she was pressed so close. Also, wasn’t it part of his duties to make sure she was kept safe? Okay, so he’d majorly failed there, but he could at least try to get her warm. So, he wrapped his arm around her proper, and he just had to take stock for a minute. Barely a day ago she was half-shouting at him for turning up at Vah Naboris, uninvited. Because he had the sword and she didn’t have her sealing powers. And now she was practically glued to his side, and he had lost the sword. Touché. 

But still, he didn’t… entirely mind the change in her demeanour. Surely it would be better if they were friends instead of enemies? She hesitantly placed her other arm across his abdomen and he almost jumped from how icy her fingers were, quickly moving to wrap his other hand over hers, rubbing at her sleeve to try to generate some heat. 

No, he thought to himself, he rather liked this new arrangement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I ashamed for writing this in a supposedly angsty fic? No.  
> I just want to give Link a little break from constant mini-breakdowns because the new few chapters are rough on him, poor guy.


	5. Dawn of the First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Sexual violence (but not assault/rape), torture and tying up. And also blood and wounds. 
> 
> Just a note but I’ve aged everyone up by a year so that Zelda (and Link) are both 17 here- as that’s the age you become an adult in Hyrule. I didn’t want this to be with children because that’s another level of darkness I’m not comfortable with. 
> 
> I am unsure as to what other warnings I should put- if anyone could guide me I'd appreciate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins.

Link felt drowsy, almost like he’d been given another dose of that blasted draught, and the haze lifted somewhat when the cage door banged shut, the sound reverberating in his head, wait- wasn’t he supposed to do something when the door opened? 

He barely got his wits together when he heard her scream his name. That woke him up, he shot forward, the dizziness too strong, blindly reaching out for her, damn it, she was supposed to be in his arms, where was she?! Why was she shouting?!

He couldn’t make out anything other than a blurry outline of red, and he broke out in cold sweat. 

They had come back. 

They had taken her.

And he’d done _nothing_. 

He banged, uselessly, against the cold, hard steel, as he finally woke up properly-

_too late too late too late_

and he saw her struggling between three of the Foot Soldiers, until one of them shoved a sickle against her neck, right up against the previous scar, and she stopped trying to fistfight her way out of their grip. 

His heart rate shot up, as he looked at what lay up ahead. It was a giant metallic table, in prime view of the sun, and three Blademasters stood beside it. How had he fallen asleep? How had he not woken up when they brought that giant thing in? 

They tied each of her limbs to one of the posts. And Link howled, infuriated at himself at his incompetence for letting her go, for letting her get captured, for failing to protect her. **Yet. Again.** He hurled himself against the bars, 

No. _No_. _**No**_!!

He wouldn’t let them hurt her.

He wouldn’t let them tear her apart. 

He banged his hands against the unforgiving, unrelenting beams again and again, in a fruitless and futile attempt to break through. 

She fidgeted uncomfortably against the post, her arms stretched too wide, he could see from here just how taunt her skin was. She didn’t look at him. 

He paced the cell again, maybe there was something he missed. He wouldn’t just sit and watch. 

Why hadn’t they taken him first?! 

Why had he fallen asleep so deeply in the first place?! It was unlike him to ever sleep whilst they were out in the wild. And he’d gone and done that whilst they were in a cell. A Goddess-damned cell, imprisoned by the Yiga Clan. 

And now-

He looked up, and two Foot Soldiers had come up to the door. Oh yes, let them come he’d punch them in the head, grab their sickles and FORCE HIS GODDESS-DAMNED WAY OUT.

Their hands weaved through the slits, two sickles in hand, and rammed the back of his head against the rails, the sound of vibrating metal rung through his head and his forehead stung. He vaguely registered the sensation of a warm liquid dribbling down his head, whilst the other two sickles remained at the front of his neck, daring him to move out of this headlock they’d put him in. 

Before he could formulate a plan to incapacitate these two idiots, he heard Zelda scream and his heart stopped. 

They weren’t killing her. Which he was so, _so_ glad about. But-

He couldn’t look. 

One of the Foot Soldier’s by his side rammed his head up with the sickle, forcing him to watch. 

He tried to reach for their hands, but they strapped something heavy, a dark metal cast along his forearms, the same as the door, he realised, and used some glowing-red- _cursed_ -Ganon-technology thing to effectively paralyse him into place. He struggled, endlessly, but it was useless. Dammit how strong was this connection?! They knew he would have felled them in one move, even as disadvantaged as he was, so they had sealed his hands as well as his body in the cell. He’d been locked in twice and he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t help her. He couldn’t- 

Wait. He could shut his eyes. He could at least preserve her dignity, her honour from himself. 

He did so. 

And then a sharp steel point pressed against his cheek, and slowly tracked upwards, cutting straight though, until it rested just below his eye. It nudged his eyeball. The threat was there. He would lose an eye if he didn’t comply. 

Whilst half of him wanted to just refuse, to do the one thing he could for the Princess right now, he couldn’t lose his vision. It would completely impair his fighting, and he had to maintain form for the Darkness. He couldn’t very well fight the Calamity if he couldn’t see it. The irony, the Knight who only saw darkness killing the Darkness. He couldn’t put the entirety of Hyrule at risk. With no other choice left to him, he opened his eyes. 

And the sickle pushed in anyway at his lower lash line, and he felt himself start to cry blood. 

Forced to watch as the Blademaster laughed down at his Princess. Forced as he used the windcleaver to nick the first button of Zelda’s blouse off. Forced as did the same for the next. She screamed, and it seared into his mind. She yelled at the Yiga to stop, and memories of her telling him the same thing back at Tabantha burnt through his head. And then the Blademaster got bored of waiting and he swiped the cursed sword down the blouse, effectively slicing it down her midline, cutting through her undershirt as well. Link dry-heaved, as much as could with three swords surrounding his neck, one just under his eye. 

He tried to breathe but it was hard, his chest ached because he knew what was coming next and he was powerless to stop it. He felt the ghastly mix of blood and tears start to track down his cheeks, as she screamed and screamed for them to stop. 

"WAIT!"

...?! Who? That was a different voice to Zelda's.

And the Blademaster must have obeyed because Zelda went quiet too and for a second Link thought the worst had happened and they’d actually killed her in a fit of anger, and he hurriedly blinked away the tears, trying to see through the haze.

"That's enough. Clearly it's not going to work." It had come from one of what seemed to be two Yiga... researchers? They had red coats over their armour, and they looked weirdly familiar to the Sheikah technicians at the Royal Ancient Laboratory. What? What was going on?!

The Blademaster made a show of putting his windcleaver back in its scabbard. “Still nothing. I shouldn’t be surprised. So weak, you can’t even summon Hylia to protect you when you are your most vulnerable. Master Kohga will _certainly_ be pleased.” He jumped down from the table, in one fluid motion, and joined the technicians and together they walked out, through the stone opening in the distance. Link held his breath. 

Was it over? 

Please, please Farore, _please_ let it be over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up tomorrow, because I feel bad leaving Zelda and Link stranded. Although the next one is harsh too. 😓


	6. Dusk of the First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Rope burns, and emotional trauma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with the aftermath...

They left her there 

In the sun

With a shirt half ripped, mercy to the wind, sand and heat. 

He didn’t know where to look. 

He wanted to see if she was okay. 

But he didn’t want to ruin whatever shred of dignity she had left. 

So, he stood sideways. If anything moved into her vicinity he would know. Not like he could do much, but it would be better for him to at least know. 

Would it though?

The guilt seared through him, branding him more than the wound under his eye could. He pressed his head against the bars. He felt so wrung out, so weak. He was used to fighting, to being able to _actually do something_. He’d never been so helpless before. The irony was that he’d received training to deal with interrogation in case the Yiga ever captured him. He’d been trained under Sheikah tutelage, specifically, about methods to hold in one’s emotions and pains whilst imprisoned by the enemy. 

But… he had not received training for what to do when it was _the Princess_ being tortured. Whilst _he watched_. Powerless. What was he supposed to do when the person whose life he was meant to defend with his own was being humiliated in such a vulgar way? The worst thing was that he’d completely and utterly _failed_ to handle the responsibility he has given. She was entrusted to him by the King, and he had failed. He’d failed not only as her Appointed Knight, but as her supposed Hero, and that seared the most. Some counterpart he was to her soul if he couldn’t stop what was happening to her. 

Eventually the same researchers came back, this time accompanied by some Yiga Foot soldiers. Link felt unbridled fury run rampant through him at the sight, because despite his fatigue, he still had enough strength to swear on the Golden Three he'd avenge her. He'd find them, and he'd make sure they regretted even setting eyes on his Princess. 

"No change still. Hm. Prolonged exposure made no difference. Well, that's... good news. Let her down, now."

Link was extremely confused, at this whole scenario, but he ignored that, right now his focus would be on Zelda. And trying to help her. He pulled his tunic off and turned his gaze away from the world outside. 

“Don’t fight Hero, or we’ll put her in chains. Don’t think we won’t. You might want to cover her up. Or maybe you’ll enjoy the sight too, not like she ever gave you much joy otherwise." 

Link was too emotionally drained to pay much heed to their words, he'd already seen the clamps in their hands before they brought Zelda over and hence knew it was useless trying to intervene. The same thing that happened earlier today would repeat itself and this time Zelda would much closer and he just- 

They snickered away, teleporting out once they shoved her in. 

He didn’t look at her, couldn't bring himself to. He felt so ashamed. He offered his tunic to her, with his hand behind his back, still not looking. 

He felt her take it. 

And then he heard her sink to the floor. 

He didn't know what to do. Did he try to step closer? He wasn’t sure that was what she would want right now. Hell, even at the best of times she hated his presence, and whilst it had felt like they’d turned a new leaf last night… a lot had happened since then. 

She sniffed. And his heart broke. “Is the sight of a tainted Princess so disgusting that the Great Hero of Hyrule, blessed by Hylia herself, can’t lay his oh-so-holy eyes on her?” 

He spun and was by her side in a second, kneeling. “You could never be tainted.”

The sand clung to her hair, and all the way along the side of her face and neck, both of which had reddened a little from all the exposure to the sun. 

She laughed but it was sarcastic, dripped in venom. And it made him scared. “That’s the first I’ve ever heard you speak. Keen to defend your honour Hero?” She scoffed. “I’m sure somehow father will still find a way for this to be my fault. _If only you spent more time in dedication to the Goddess, then maybe she would have blessed you with the powers that would have allowed you to get out of this situation. You would have been stronger than them. You would not have allowed yourself to be humiliated._ ” 

Goddesses above. The _power_. Fundamentally, everything came back to the Calamity... It was so powerful, hell, even it's _impending_ **arrival** had already wrecked havoc with their lives. He didn't have the answer to her powers, but he wasn't so sure the key was with prayer to the Goddess. He was just as clueless with the sword, and if it would be enough, but it wasn't right to bring that up now. It would be like rubbing salt into her wound. Because at least he had the sword. And... he sort of understood what she was doing. And he’d let her do it. She was hurt. He was too, but he’d shoulder any burden of hers he could. “And he’s silent again.”

Crap, he hadn't meant- “I’m sorry Princess. I’m really sorry.” He didn't know what else to say. He bowed his head, the sight of her burnt and upset felt like a stab to his soul. He heard her sigh, and then she knelt back against the very bars his hands had become blistered, red and swollen from hitting so much. 

He hesitantly sat down next to her, wary of her boundaries.

They stayed like that for a while, until she caught sight of his hands. She reached over and traced a faint line over where his skin had split open from the abuse it had received. Sand lined the edges of the wound and he would be lying if he didn’t admit that it stung. And then she shuffled just a little closer.

Link took a series of small half-panicked breaths. He moved, very slowly, as though she was made of glass that could shatter and touched his fingertips on her shoulder. She leant back a little, so his whole hand was now touching her. He took that to mean it was okay to touch, and slowly wrapped his arm around her fully. She shivered, and he started to rub his hand up and down her arm, in an attempt to warm her up. 

He observed her throughout. At any sign of discomfort, he would stop, but she hadn’t shown any yet, only leaning into his arm slightly. 

Her lower lip trembled. He immediately stopped. She shook her head, “I’m overreacting. I just asked for forgiveness yesterday and look at what I’m doing today.” She blinked rapidly; he could tell she was holding back tears. “It. It could have been worse. I still have my chest guard on. So. They didn’t cut through that.”

He was relieved, honestly, because she’d been spared that, but regardless it was humiliating. “It doesn’t make your pain any less valid Princess, regardless of how many layers they cut through.”

She stiffened at his validation, his corroboration that it wasn’t her fault, because that is what this was about truly, that is why she brought up her father, and her inability to unlock the power. She angrily brushed back the few tears that had dared to make their way through. 

He felt sick, bruised and battered, watching her. It was heart-breaking. “It’s okay to cry Princess. It doesn’t mean they’ve won.”

She stared hard at his chest, before slowly looking up to him, as if she was seeing him for the first time. Truly properly seeing him. He guessed it was hard to know someone's intentions if they remained silent. He’d promised himself today though, there was no one here to put a façade on for. And he vowed that he would at least try to help her, even if he didn’t know how. 

She latched onto his other arm, fisting the fabric in her hand, and slowly laid her head down on his shoulder. He assumed he said the right thing then, and he slowly exhaled a breath he hadn't even realised he was holding in. 

Something his mother had always done for him whenever he’d hurt himself as a child was to brush through his hair. He wasn’t sure that would be appreciated here though. He didn’t want to touch her more than she allowed. What else could he do? 

… the lullaby. He knew the lullaby. He could hum the lullaby. He waited for a while, letting her breathing settle a little. He wasn’t sure how she’d respond. She felt so fragile in his arms, like a frightened deer and he was terrified of scaring her away, of hurting her more than she had suffered through already. 

A few minutes passed and she was still gripping his shirt, still rigid and tense, and he decided it was worth a shot. He could always stop if she told him too. 

She inhaled, sharply, once he started. And then she leaned closer still, until her head was practically on his chest, her ear pressed against his sternum. Could she tell his heart rate had tripled since she moved closer?

He felt, rather than heard, her tears. They pierced through his thin undershirt, blot by blot, each one a stab to his heart. 

He would be lying if he didn’t cry too, and it messed up the rhythm a little. 

And she looked up, sitting up a little so she could see more of him, probably wondering why his voice had cracked halfway through. And she gasped. “What-”

She raised a hand to his face, and gently brushed the tears away from his left eye and then hovered over his right.

Oh. Oh yes, he’d been hurt. He imagined it probably wasn’t a pretty sight, a fairly deep gouge into the skin between his eye and cheek. He didn’t have her needles so he couldn’t fix it. Even if he did have thread, it wasn’t like he could even see it. It throbbed but it felt nothing compared to the turmoil that had run through him the entirety of the day. 

“I refused to look.” 

And his gaze flitted from her over-filled eyes, the dull haunted look in them making his heart twist for the umpteenth time today, to her wrist. 

And he almost had a heart attack.

Dear Goddesses, he was going to end up with severe cardiac problems after this. 

He gently grasped her hand and turned it so he could see properly. Her entire wrist was mangled, red, sore… Chapped from rope burns, no doubt, as she tried to wrench free at the posts. 

She sighed. And held up her other hand, and then brought her ankles close, all of which were in a similar state, her ankles less so because it was harder to twist against rope with them. 

And then she got out her kit. She moved to him first and he was horrified, snatching it out of her hands and pointing towards the designated bed area. She frowned. He didn’t back down. To hell with her taking care of him, after today. 

She shuffled across, probably realising that this was a fight she was doomed to lose. As he moved to clean the wound with the little cup of water the Yiga had left them when they’d dropped Zelda off, she stopped him. “We shouldn’t waste water this way, Link. We both need to drink it rather than clean wounds out. Dehydration trumps infection in the _causes of death_ order, Sir Link.” 

He accepted; she was right. Who knew when the next water-cup would come? He keenly felt the loss of his pouches, for the small first aid kit he always carried, and the antiseptic cream he had. He did the best he could, using small pieces of Champion blue cloth to bind around her wrists and ankles, in a makeshift bandage. And then he got unceremoniously pushed into the wall, and he grimaced at the sight of the needle in her hand. He wouldn’t be asleep this time. 

He still couldn’t really look at her though, he felt guilty, because the wound was proof that he had failed to protect her honour, even from himself. 

“None of this is your fault Link.”

How did she know him so well? Perhaps she’d spent more time observing him that he’d thought. “I failed you Princess. Again. I let them take you. I-” His voice broke. He couldn’t actually voice the rest of his apology, the words scraped against his throat, foul and bitter as shame paralysed him. 

She swallowed. “We could play the whose-fault-is-it game all day. Ultimately neither of us are to blame. I’m tired Link. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

He nodded his assent, and he let her fix the wound. She used small careful stitches which he could tell she did as quickly as she could, so that she didn't cause him excessive pain. And then she wrapped some of the material around his hands in a makeshift bandage. The pain was nothing though. Nothing compared to the dread he felt as to what would come next. 

Because today was just day one. What would happen tomorrow? 

She eventually finished, and then came to sit next to him. They split the water, and although he tried to make sure she got more than he did, she refused and they each got half equally. 

“Hypothermia.” Is all she said afterwards, and he knew what she meant. 

This time, though he felt her tears instead of her smile, and he felt completely and utterly useless. She didn’t deserve this. No one deserved this. He understood, that perhaps right now they were in survival mode, and that is why she didn’t want to think about it too deeply because who knew what horrors awaited them tomorrow. But he worried for her, he always did, because he knew the scars this whole experience would have would be lasting. 

That was a depressing line of thought and he was treading dangerous waters. He needed to think about how they were supposed to get out. He needed to make sure this didn’t happen again. He needed to _actually_ protect her damn it. He leaned back. What could he really do, stuck as they were? What were the tips he'd been taught on how to handle an imprisonment? Perhaps the first thing to do was to try to figure out what the captors wanted. Usually that was pretty obvious, information or money but it wasn’t so clear cut here.

It just didn't make sense, and he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly the Yiga Clan wanted from this. The thing the researcher had said when stopping the Blademaster- something about it not working... was he talking about Zelda's sealing powers not awakening? He must have, seeing as the Blademaster more or less confirmed that when he taunted Zelda for being unable summon Hylia. And then when the researchers had come to let Zelda down, it seemed to be more of a... _conclusion_ to their experiment. Link wasn’t a scientist, but he’d silently observed plenty of _simulations_ that the Sheikah and Zelda had run on various parts of Ancient Technology. It was a process akin to what happened today- there was some sort of plan beforehand, then the “subject” - most often a Guardian - was prepared, and the planned programming was completed and then the results recorded.

But... Link couldn’t match that criteria with what had happened to Zelda. Just what were the researchers trying to get out of the whole thing? What was their initial plan- i.e why conduct, this-this _experiment_ to torment Zelda to try to get the power to show itself? Surely that was counterintuitive to their overall aim? Because awakening her powers would mean the Darkness would be sealed and that was completely against what they wanted? Which brought him back to what, exactly, was their end goal? Had it changed? It didn’t seem so... And why had the Yiga changed their plan from assasination to... torture? For the life of him he couldn’t understand... 

Chewing on his lip he decided it was worth a shot, to try to sift through the memories of lives he’d had but not lived himself, and… he even decided to try to look through the last Hero’s one. He sighed, he always felt uncomfortable with the memories. The thing was that they were like snapshots in time, and they were not… organised in any meaningful way. The whole thing was one big mess of emotion, because most of them were glimpses of things that his predecessors had felt strongly about, those were the ones that they unconsciously imprinted on the sword, and it carried those memories through for each wielder that followed. Maybe it thought there was a lesson to be learnt from each one, or maybe it just wanted a memento of each Hero. Who knew, the sword had a mind of its own.

So, whilst he knew he’d transformed into a wolf, he had no idea why or even how it had happened. The only time he'd get a semi-coherent sequence of events was during his dreams. Those often flowed a lot better than him trying to access the memory whilst conscious, which confused him but really, was anything about the Master Sword simple?

And that was why he’d found it so hard to understand just what was going on in the life of the Hero who was his direct comparator, the one who had succeeded the last time this had happened. The truth of the matter was, Link felt incredibly depressed, every time he thought of what happened 10,000 years ago. 

For starters, the guy had it _all_. Link could only vaguely remember something glowing blue with a distinct sense that it was “Sheikah” so he assumed that was from the inside of one of those shrines, and it was accompanied by a feeling of “training programme”. And the rest of the memories pre-calamity were of… well. This was the part that used to disturb and plague him the most, because clearly, this Hero had a good working relationship with his Princess, and it was probably not just working. Okay it was definitely not _just working_ , but Link refused to think further on that before, especially considering his own tenuous relationship with His Princess. The only other significant thing, alongside a bucketful of reminiscences with the Princess of that time, was some sort of glowing hand, which Link for the life of him couldn’t figure out but it seemed important. Oh, and also a crimson-coloured mist thing, but he wasn’t sure- because the whole thing seemed to be blurred around the edges. What was even more bizarre, was that there was barely any feeling of fear associated with the two things, it was weirdly _relief_ more than anything else. And that frankly made him very frustrated. _Relief_ at facing destiny? Just how prepared was this Hero? The whole thing left him with a bitter taste in his mouth, more so than the others because Link felt anything _but_ prepared. 

He sighed, the other thing with the memories were that he couldn’t just summon up what he wanted, and it would appear. It was more like he’d have to file his way through, and hopefully happen upon whatever it was he was searching for. And only now, after revisiting Mr Successful, did he actually remember that the Sheikah were still united back then, so there was no Yiga. They just didn't exist. Wonderful. Another reason why he hated to dwell on the seemingly illustrious journey that Hero had had.

He refocused. This wasn’t about that time. Why else would the Yiga have captured them, other than a sick sense of humour with the whole experiment? Was there any other purpose for this whole thing? His mind continued to wrack with the problem, and he watched as the moon moved across the sky.

Eventually, the Princess’s breathing evened out, as she fell asleep in his arms. At least she’d managed to sleep, he wasn’t sure she would, all things considered. 

He sighed. The only other idea he had was that the whole thing was a farce, so they could exact revenge against the Royal Family for the humiliation they underwent all those eons ago and were banished. Clearly, they still used Ancient Sheikah Technology, the likes of which he’d never seen before. But still, surely the aim would be to kill them both to ensure Ganon’s revival would be unhindered? Not that he minded they hadn’t killed them yet; it was relieving to know they still had a chance, even if it was due to some sort of study. 

He was distracted when she started to shiver, flinching inwards and he could only imagine what horrors she was seeing in her dreams. He grasped her tightly, running his fingers through her hair as he hummed her lullaby, hoping it would calm her, just as much as it did for him. Thankfully it worked, she settled back down, although now her knees were also pressed against his abdomen. He didn’t think it was a very comfortable position, but he didn’t want to disturb her, given she’d only just relaxed. 

He, meanwhile, remained wide awake, tensed as bowstring. He would be ready next time.


	7. Dawn of the Second Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Huge wounds, massive haemorrhage (a lot of blood loss yes I am a medic geek) and pain. 
> 
> Also Nintendo owns Legend of Zelda and some of the dialogue used. Please don't sue me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry in advance.

This time, they teleported in, grabbed him, and teleported out. 

Zelda screamed his name, but it got lost in the vortex of red paper slips, as he felt his insides split apart and then reform. 

He was glad though. Incredibly glad that they’d taken him and not his Princess. He ended up on the floor, in the big arena that wasn’t an arena and he coughed, trying to get the sand out of his mouth, and eyes. 

He heard Zelda shouting for him, and it suddenly hit him- _this was it_. The perfect opportunity. He could try and get her out. He was _outside_ Hylia above!

And just as he thought that, four giant metal clamps locked onto his limbs. And that same cursed red glowing thing was applied so he couldn’t move. He swore at them but stopped struggling. He would have to bide his time, he already felt a little weak from not eating for three days, so every store of energy was precious right now. He had to wait for the perfect opportunity and then unleash it all. 

He took a moment to try and calm down. Think things through. He was outside the cell, that was better than being inside. He just had to be observant and careful. He started by trying to determine what their motive was, but he wasn’t sure what was happening. Why had they decided to take him out, if they were only going to restrain him down again? 

He looked up, at least they hadn’t clamped his neck. And then a… well. There was no polite way to think of him, if Link was being honest. And frankly, being polite was really quite low down in his list of concerns at the minute. 

The Yiga Clan were... normally, at least, easily categorisable. All the Yiga Foot soldiers were thin, agile, capable of moving at lightning speed with their teleportation. The Blademasters were by comparison much larger, and they wielded the more powerful windcleaver. And now he knew of the researchers, but they looked a lot like the Foot soldiers, just with a red lab coat on. 

This man… although dressed as a Yiga, didn’t match one of the above categories. He was, well, fat. He had a huge abdomen, which Link didn’t really see working in a fight, either with a sickle or a windcleaver and he was confused really. It was the most bizarre thing he’d seen since arriving. 

Link wondered if the lack of food was getting to him. 

“Yeah, IT'S YOU! You're that Link guy I've been looking for! And the Princess of course but she’s BORING." 

Uh… what? This guy had been… _looking_ … for him? Not to sound egoistical, but wasn’t it really obvious who he was? He literally wore bright blue and had the Master Sword strapped to his back. Admittedly, he didn’t have those two things right now but…

"I need to bust out my serious moves... A secret technique taught by my mother's father! It will...destroy you!"

Uh yeah. It probably would do that because Link was currently strapped to the floor with no weapons. So, whatever this guy chose to do, it would, in all likelihood, work by default.

“Release him from the magnesis bonds! NO WAIT! I need to finish my speech first!”

This man was starting to get on Link’s nerves, like a bratty child who wanted a sweet. But he just said to release his bonds. Yes, if that happened, he would destroy them all, steal all their weapons, physically break down those bars, rescue his Princess and then hightail it out of the desert. So, he would remain calm. Collected. And not think of what happened yesterday. 

“Now. Hero of Hyrule. I will DUEL you. So someone told someone who told someone yada yada yada that I should give you a fair chance, and something testing something Princess, I'm not sure, I fell asleep half-way through, so here we are. Of course, you’re a KNIGHT so I assume you know what a DUEL is!"

Link remained silent. He figured it probably wouldn't work in his favour if he started to laugh.

"You know, your silence really is _unnerving_. ANYWAY, I will fight with my chosen weapons, and you will be provided with a Duplex Bow, ten arrows, a Vicious Sickle and a Windcleaver. A very generous selection, in my opinion. If you defeat me, I will allow you to walk away.” Link’s eyes widened. “YES, WALK AWAYYY!” He laughed, “I won’t kill you to DEATH! Even-if-that's-what-I-really-want-can-you-imagine-being-named-Top-Banana-Of-The-Yiga-Clan-comma-Slayer-Of-The-Hero!”

Okay yeah, there was clearly something wrong with this guy, but Link focussed on the important parts. A Duel. Of which the outcome would be freedom. But. He hadn’t mentioned Zelda. No matter, Link would be a fool not to accept. He’d defeat this fat lug and then Kill. Them. All. 

And those Blademasters that had stood on that cursed table? He’d make sure to find his sword and would ensure they suffered a slow, prolonged death. But first, he’d win, take Zelda to the Castle where she’d be safe, and then he’d come back. And exterminate them like the rats they were. 

He nodded. 

They dropped the connection, freeing him, and he didn’t try anything. Not yet anyway. Once they gave him weapons though, Link would forgo whatever pact he’d made with this man. This didn’t count as an honourable situation anyway, this wasn’t a duel between Knights, it was a duel between captor and captee. 

What he hadn’t been expecting, was the fat man to throw a small capsule in the middle of the hole, and the capsule didn’t fall, no, it _hovered_ in place. And the outlines of a dome formed, it extended from the centre of the seemingly bottom-less hole and spread out to include a small ring of sand around said hole. All of a sudden, sound seemed to stop coming through, and he could barely hear Zelda, although maybe she’d come to realise it was futile and had gone quiet. 

The capsule made a clicking noise, like an activation of something, and then a burst of red light cascaded from it, down the dome, forming a crimson-lined grid along the surface, almost like red electricity was crawling along the lines. They connected to metal ridges that Link hadn’t even noticed in the sand. He swallowed. He knew, instinctively, that he wouldn’t be able to escape. He wouldn’t be able to get out. Because it was the same thing that had trapped him in those cuffs. 

It would have to be honourable. By default. 

Still, Link wasn’t feeling that scared. If the fat man wanted a duel, Link would give it to him. 

“In the name of Calamity Ganon!” He pranced around, shimmying from one foot to the other. "That's what you say when you start a DUEL right?!" 

Link decided to ignore him, and simply looked over to where he thought the Princess was, the red light made it hard to see. “In the name of Princess Zelda Bosphoramus Hyrule, my charge, my liege… my Princess.” And his heart whispered one more thing, _my soulmate_.

* * *

It had started out well enough, the man simply summoned rocks at him, not unlike an octorok, but these ones were considerably larger, with a glowing upside down Sheikah eye on them. Still, he dispatched the obnoxious man in quick time, shooting a well-timed arrow into his head, and then jumping in bullet-time to attack with the sickle. 

And then the fat man got angry, stamping his foot into the ground like a child having a tantrum. He moved to _hover_ on top of the hole, and this time he had a blue barrier. Link had wasted one arrow hitting it, only for it to bounce right off. Useless. And there was no way for Link to jump in, seeing as he was without his paraglider and he'd fall _down_ anyway, not sideways to the centre of the abyss where the man was. 

So, he bid his time, going as far back as possible and decided to just observe the attack. He remained calm, although for some reason he was a little more flustered than he ordinarily was. Perhaps because the Princess’s safety relied on this fight. Yes, that wasn’t an unusual occurrence, but normally, she’d be hidden, well-protected, should anything go wrong with him. This time… If he failed, then who knew what the consequences would be. 

He refocussed, the next move simply involved two rocks hovering horizontally and then vertically to the man, where his barrier faulted for a split second, just before he chucked them at Link. It was easy enough to dodge, and now Link knew what to do. He simply hit the man when the barrier was down, and the Yiga lost control of the rocks, so they hit him instead. After another couple of rounds, where Link looked worryingly at his meagre five remaining arrows, another tantrum fest occurred, this time jumping up and down with one foot whilst floating. Link rubbed his eyes in case he was hallucinating. No, he wasn’t. 

And that is where everything went wrong. 

The man was now using that accursed red thing to move a giant metal ball at him. The ball had spikes. Huge ones at that. And despite Link keeping his eyes trained on the man, his barrier did not fall. Not once. 

Crap.

How?! How could the Yiga mentally control metal?! How was he supposed to defeat him now?

The spiked sphere continued to crawl after him, a slow and steady reminder of what was coming. Link was trying hard not to panic. What else could he do? He didn’t have any of his other weapons. He didn’t have shock arrows. He didn’t have his bomb bag. Maybe he could parry the sphere? But he didn’t have a shield either. He cried, almost, thinking back to his prized Hylian shield sitting in the Inn at Kara Kara Bazaar. 

_What else what else what else_

He knew one thing for certain though. He wouldn’t be able to keep up running forever. Not as weak as he currently was from all the stresses over the past two days and the lack of food. Yes, the sphere moved slowly. But it moved. And eventually he would tire. 

The man took back the sphere and Link aimed, hoping his barrier would come down for one second, but no. All he did was pause before sending the sphere. Straight. Back. At. Him. 

Goddesses above he wouldn’t last. 

Was this his true Hero trial?

Was this how he would die?

He decided to try to use the windcleaver to generate some gush of air that would what? Move the giant ball? He was crazy enough to at least attempt because what else could he do? None of his weapons would even reach the man, even if he chucked them, let alone penetrate the seemingly solid blue barrier. 

He ran to the edge of the dome, hoping to be a little out of the ball's range to give him some breathing room should this go wrong, but he had no such luck, because it came, hard and fast for him. He waited until it came close then swung the blade down and tried to repel it. 

It obviously failed; no colossal, incredibly heavy, metallic sphere was going to shift with the mere power of _air_. 

Belatedly, he realised that the fat man could afford to be fat. Who was going to hurt him if he could levitate himself out into a pit of no end so there was no hope of reaching him, put up a barrier that you had no hope of penetrating, trap you in a hemisphere so you were effectively at his mercy and was armed with a deadly weapon only he could control? 

Link only had just about enough time to turn, for his fingers to hit the dome, before the spikes rammed into his back and Link heard himself scream. 

He was used to pain, he thought distantly. He’d hurt himself so many times, from climbing accidents, to training mishaps, to when he’d first started fighting monsters, especially those Goddess damned Lynel swords, oh, wait, no, the crushers were worse.

But he’d never had enormous sharp cones ram into his back, upper thigh and calves, _all at once_. He was effectively pinned against the dome. And then the ball was pulled out, and shoved right back in. 

And again. 

And again. 

And then for flavour, the fat man shifted it just to the right, so now his wounds grew and grew, until he was slowly ripped apart, until the only thing actually holding him upright was the metal sphere. 

Link lost track of everything. He’d never felt so humiliated, so weak. 

He’d never lost a fight. 

What would happen now? What would happen to him and Zelda? 

He felt wet, lethargic and so, so heavy. Which struck him as odd, especially considering he’d probably lost a lot of blood. Shouldn’t he be light? 

Little spots of blackness coated his vision, somehow he blinked and he was on the floor, on his knees, the dome gone, his hands shaking trying to hold himself up. His blood rushed through his ears, thundering too loudly, and everything else was muted, muffled, and he could no longer focus properly.

"-oga! Did you se- I did i-" 

Link must have blacked out again, because the next thing he knew he was being hauled by his armpits back into the cell, and his injuries were stretched even more, and Link screeched in pain. He was so far gone it was silent, and he lost consciousness yet again, because he practically fell on top of Zelda, landing on his front, in her arms. She was shaking, maybe? Or was it him? Probably him, but he couldn’t tell, and he heard her furiously mutter under her breath about hypo-something shock, but really, he was barely holding onto the few remaining threads of consciousness he had. 

“Link?” She sounded frightened, but he couldn’t bring himself to respond. Instead, when he opened his mouth, he coughed up an alarming amount of blood. He felt some of it dribble down his chin and he heard her half scream in response.

“LINK! No! In - name of Hylia st- with me! Link!” She gently held his head in her hands, his head rolling in her hold because he'd now lost what little control he had over his muscles. He focussed on the softness of her touch, and how it contrasted so deeply to the agony that he was in, although everything was dulled around the edges right now, probably from the blood loss. He stared at the growing pool of bright crimson around them, it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Like he was a dam that had suffered too many hits and now all the water was leaking through. That wasn’t that far from the truth to be fair.

“Zel-” He tried to say something, to reassure her that he would fight to stay awake. But it ended in another, harsher, coughing fit, and it felt like Daruk had grasped his chest in his hands and squeezed. Dear Goddesses, he felt his vision start to fade again, it was already half faded, in all honesty. And it scared him, because this wasn't the same blackness he'd had after being knocked cold from a fight. This was darker, more permeating. It felt... more permanent.

She cried, and it pained him to see her tears for him, but the blackness forced its way upon him, and he slowly closed his eyes, trying his hardest not to give in, but even from the start he knew it was a losing battle. Vaguely he wondered if the sword would remember him. He wondered what would happen to his family, to Hyrule, to _her_ , if there was no Hero for the Calamity. He wondered, if he'd had more time, more courage, if he and Zelda could have- 

She cradled his head in her arms, gently brushing his matted hair away from his forehead, and he allowed himself a final deep breath, for her lavender to imprint in his mind one last time. 

Link was not... scared of death. He knew it was inevitable, and there was a significant probability of him dying, either in the line of duty to the Crown, or against the Calamity, his destiny-chosen battle. But... he was scared now. He was scared of what the consequences of him dying meant. Her verdant eyes stared at him, and she was saying something but he could no longer hear. She was his biggest regret, he couldn't stomach leaving her, here and now, because who knew what horrors would await her once he left. So much guilt, so much shame, so much despair hit him, in the final moment but there was nothing left to he done. He tried to convey that to her, through his gaze, that he was sorry, for not being enough, for not doing enough, for failing to get her out of here- the list continued, but he was rapidly losing what little control he had left, and he felt his eyes glaze over. He’d seen enough death to know where he stood. Because everything ached, he felt increasingly weaker, and his breathing grew progressively more ragged, as stabs of pain shot up his ribs for every centimetre he inhaled in. 

He gasped for air, one final time, trying to commit her to his memory, and that seemed to be the very last assault his body could handle. Because within seconds he lost all sense of the world, his final thought was of his silent princess, and of a lullaby, that would forever haunt him till the end of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not crying. I'm not. ~~why did I write this~~
> 
> Side note: this is what actually started this whole fic. The idea that actually, despite how idiotic Kohga is, pre-calamity Link with no Sheikah Slate actually did not stand a chance.


	8. Dusk of the Second Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: a lot of pain, and graphic wound description.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for all kudos and especially for your comments in the last chapter! I was grinning all day reading them. :D

He woke up, drenched in sweat, feeling feverish almost, and he rapidly blinked, expecting to be in a place flooded with light (if he was in the Spirit Realm) or fire (if he... wasn't so lucky). Instead, it was dark, moonlight-lit, with a cool breeze nipping at his skin. Everything felt heavy, weirdly, and he felt incredibly drowsy still, and his fingers felt like they had another layer of something, dirt, maybe?, on top of them. He pushed himself onto his forearms, out of instinct, trying to figure out what had happened, and where he was, exactly. And he instantly regretted that, because his back immediately seared with pain, and it spread all the way down to his feet. He bit back a scream, as the pain flooded into his brain. Yep. He remembered everything now. Or at least, he remembered up to Zelda mouthing something to him but he'd blacked out soon after that.

He tried to breathe, and that sent another flare of pain down his side. Through the haze of the repeated bolts of agony, he realised something. He was alive.

He was actually alive. 

... _How?!_

No matter, he wasn't going to be ungrateful for a blessing when he saw it, he thanked the Goddesses, for giving his unworthy soul another chance. He would not fail them, or Hyrule, or his Princess, _again_.

He bit down on his lip, hard, as his body convulsed under the strain he was putting it under. It probably wasn't a good idea to do a plank with a wounded back after all. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain, and shuffled his legs a little, trying to see his scope of movement, and he suddenly realised his feet were in fact, raised. They were balanced on the rags, and... Zelda had propped them up rather precariously using the two cups they'd been given. He decided not to disturb the set-up she made any further, clearly she'd done it for a reason.

As he slowly grew more cognisant, through the throbs of pain cascading down him every second, he finally registered a rather prominent heat source stuck to his side. He opened one eye, and confirmed that Zelda, was, in fact, under his right arm. She had somehow managed to stick herself to him again and it was by sheer luck he hadn’t knocked into her with his quasi-plank, so he tried to avoid moving anymore, lest he wake her up. He’d worried her enough today as it was. 

He glanced over his back; finally taking stock of his wounds. The thin undershirt was gone, no doubt too bloody and ripped in shreds to be used again. And his trousers had been teared up to his boxers nearly, just above the first hole in his thigh. A meshwork of stiches adorned his back, thighs and calves, all of which were carefully done to seal the circular gaps in him. Said shirt and trouser remnants... and... was that? Goddesses! She had used her own, ripped shirt as well! He immediately blushed, and temporarily forgot the pain as his brain ground to a halt. 

But then the throbbing came back with a vengeance, a surge, as he inhaled sharply. No. He took a series of small, shallow breaths and that calmed it a little. He refocussed, he needed to look over his injuries and ignore... what she'd used. Ahem, the _various bits of material_ were wrapped around several spots along his chest and legs to seal in the stitches, probably because the risk of them opening was so high. He supposed that thin embroidery thread wasn’t really meant for holding flesh together. Or maybe she’d used them as tourniquets and then loosened them a little once the immediate bleeding had stopped, but in place and ready to be tightened, if it started again. His Princess was smart, and his smile turned into a grimace as yet another flood of pain jolted down his body. He admired her work though, she’d sewed it from both ends, teasing the ripped skin back together. It was only now he noticed something rather strange, the fact that the holes got progressively bigger as they went down his back and his thigh, and then seemed to shrink again towards his calves... He narrowed his eyes, staring at the raw, red and inflamed circles on his back for a while, trying to figure it out through the sharp painful interruptions from his injuries. 

...He finally got it! It was because the spikes were on a sphere! So only the tips could piece his upper back, whilst the whole cone could sink into his lower back and upper thigh. At least the fat man hadn’t moved the sphere up and down, if he’d done that then the holes would have all been equally as large and he probably wouldn’t have survived. But because he’d only moved the sphere slightly to the side, the hole depth hadn’t changed, and that probably explained how the blood loss could be easily controlled, seeing as most of the holes were smaller and the two largest ones on his lower back and thigh could be controlled with two tourniquets around his upper thighs whilst she sealed his back shut... At least, that’s how he presumed she did it.

He glanced over the stitches again, with new found appreciation for how Zelda must have sewn him back together. It was the work of a professional truly. And there went his last distracting thought as his body ached in sync again, the painful throbbing echoing down his back and continuing in a never-ending torrent. 

He couldn’t help but groan loudly this time, overcome from trying to hold it in for so long, and he felt dizzy too, no doubt due to the blood loss. But at least he was dizzy. Being lightheaded was better than being dead. He seriously thought he could have died, seeing all the blood he’d lost and how weak he’d felt... It was a miracle he was still here. Clearly, she’d worked in record time to suture everything shut and he was incredibly grateful that she was there, as much as he hated putting her in danger, he didn’t think he’d be alive otherwise.

The groan and the subsequent shaking of his body as it tried to hold itself together without collapsing in a pile was enough to wake her and he cursed himself. 

She awoke with a start, hurriedly checking around them, in case of a new threat, before realising it was all okay. And then she turned her attention to him and looked ready to cry, reaching up to hold his face in her hands gently, tenderly passing her thumb across the wound under his eye, which still hurt but it was considerably less compared to the new injuries he'd since accumulated. He was distracted from the prickling sensation by how soft she was. It felt soothing, compared to the bursts of fire raging beneath his skin. She brushed his hair back behind his ears. 

“Oh, thank Hylia you're awake. I-I was so scared, Link, that- Never mind, you're here, now, with me." She smiled a little, but it was strained, and he smiled back, trying reassure her, but then he shivered, the cold fingering its way underneath his bandages, and that jolted his back, resulting in a spasm of pain. He nearly shrieked, barely managing to shut his eyes and hold it in. "How is it-” she sighed. “That's a really stupid question, ignore me, because I can see it from your face. I wish I’d stored a potion on me. You really need it Link...” She gently pressed her finger to the frown on his forehead that he hadn't even realise he'd made. Her eyes clouded, and filled with tears watching him, and she looked _guilty_ , dammit, he needed to do a better job of reassuring her, "I-Goddesses, I'm so sorry Link, this-this-everything-you're suffering from, it's-it's all my-" 

No, no, _no_! He wouldn't let her feel culpable for something the bastard Yiga had done! He tried to speak, opened his mouth, and accidentally inhaled air in that way, which practically sent him into a coughing fit, and he knew he wouldn't be able to handle the pain that came with it, so he swallowed rapidly, once, twice, three times, hoping it would go away. In all his haste to reassure her and not choke on his own breath, he momentarily forgot he was, in fact, not wearing a shirt, and with trousers that were more like a second pair of boxers that anything, as he tried to steady himself on one arm whilst the other lightly rested on her face.

Ever so gently, he pressed his thumb over her lips, silencing her. She paused, mid self-tirade, which was good. That was what he had wanted. He couldn't risk speaking just yet, but he had to tell her, somehow, that this wasn't her fault, and that he would gladly suffer through any physical wound that would spare her. 

He had another go at reassuring her, this time mirroring her hand as he softly brushed her cheekbone with his thumb. He wiped away the few tears that had escaped, and to distract himself from the heartache he felt watching her cry, he glanced down. It was only now that he could appreciate seeing her, properly, in _his_ tunic for the first time, which sent his thoughts down a decidedly different path to the pain. He allowed himself to get lost a little, in how she leaned into his palm, in her verdant eyes, trying to ignore how unsteady he was and the worried look in them. She was worried. For him. That pricked his soul, and hurt more than the wounds in his back. 

He opened his mouth, remembering to breathe in through his nose this time, and thankfully, didn't feel the warning signs of an impending cough. “I’m okay.” He winced though, as his shaking, barely stable arm decided to give out just at that very moment, probably because he’d really pushed his limits when he reached out to touch Zelda, and he let out a strangled cry in agony as he landed on top of her. Wow. Some reassurance that was.

He struggled, red-faced with effort and embarrassment, trying to pick up his mangled body and move over because he couldn’t lie half-naked on top of the Princess. “Goddesses, I’m so sor-“

She simply shifted a little closer, apparently not minding at all, and wrapped her arm around his head, pushing him back down into her shoulder. “Hush Link, there is no need to apologise. Lie down, you need to rest.” 

Rest?! On her shoulder?! Where his head would fit just right against her neck if he inched a touch closer?! She pressed her fingers into his hair, “It’s okay, Link. ” 

He sighed, it was all to easy to accept because he wasn’t feeling good, the pain had half-addled his brain, and he was already halfway unconscious, to be honest, from it and from her warmth, and he gave in. Hell, he had defied death today, surely he could indulge just a little. And it was only for one night, until he could be strong enough to actually move himself tomorrow. So, he wrapped his arm around her waist and held her a little tighter, finding support in her frame, as he revelled in the feel of her so close. He pressed his forehead into her neck, her cool skin helping to calm his feverish body. She simply ran her fingers through his hair, feather-light, and then she started to press her fingertips a little deeper into his neck, and down his upper shoulder. It helped, removing some of the tension he’d been under. No, he was lying, it felt _deliciously_ good, and served as a very worthy distractor to the stinging holes in him just below her dainty fingers. 

Somewhere, deep inside him, he knew that this was very wrong.

No Knight should ever hold their liege in this way. 

Or be held by their liege in this way.

But Link was tired, he felt so weak; his body, mind and heart all ached, and she was a source of comfort. Also, there was still the risk of hypothermia, especially considering he had no shirt on, ignoring his fever. Or at least, that’s how he was justifying it to himself. Not because he actually wanted to hold her close. 

Which was all very well and good until she sighed, and gently pressed a kiss to his forehead, resting her hands in his locks. 

And Link knew then, accepted, even, that his heart didn’t beat faster when she looked at him out of fear in case something happened, that he didn’t find comfort in her arms because she just happened to be there, that he didn’t just protect her because he was a Hero and that’s what Heroes did. 

He suddenly realised he hadn’t thanked her. “Princess, thank you. For saving me.” His voice was raspy, cracked, much like he was feeling, fragile and ready to snap at any slight insult.

She smiled, into his forehead, and that sent pleasant, not agonising, shivers down his spine, “Nonsense, you’ve done the same for me.” She paused. “Although, I’d like to ask something of you in return.”

Hm? He felt a catch coming, but he fell into her trap anyway. Somehow he had a weird sense of déjà vu, like this was something he’d definitely done before, at least once. Which unnerved him a little, because how many times had he, not just him, but all of him, failed to deny their Princesses anything? Knowing he was powerless against her, he resigned himself to his fate and just ploughed on, “Anything, Princess.”

“So, I imagine tomorrow will be my turn, according to the pattern, so promise me, Link, that you won’t hurt yourself trying to break out, when we both know there is nothing to be done. You will instead remain here and will rest and recover until we can escape.”

He stiffened. And turned his face upwards to look at her aghast. She’d asked him to effectively abandon his duty… And the other, overwhelming emotion he felt for her that he couldn’t name just yet, even in his thoughts. “Please don’t ask that of me Princess.”

She huffed, looking at the ceiling. “I’ll order you to do it. Then you’ll have to accept.” She looked back him, fearsome, strong and powerful. “Don’t make me do that Link.” 

Hylia above what had the world come to. 

He didn’t have the strength to actually think anymore, he just wanted to hold her close, and pretend the cursed light of tomorrow’s dawn would never appear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand with this chapter we are past the halfway mark! 
> 
> Also, if Link seems off-kilter in this chapter, that's because he's in excessive pain and that’s why he just lost all inhibition as a Knight, because he's not thinking straight. No, not because I ship Zelink and I want to write fluff. Absolutely not.
> 
> And I’ve restarted uni this week, so I might have to delay the next chapter by another day- just in case I can’t make it. I want these to be as perfect as I can get them before sending them out.


	9. Dawn of the Third Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Inflicting damage on previous wounds and pain. And a little bit of bleeding, but not like previous chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things take an unexpected turn.

He’d hardly been capable of moving, come morning, but as they were thankfully very close to the wall, he’d just about managed to push Zelda into it, and under the pretext of not injuring him further, she was effectively trapped underneath him. 

This meant the Yiga would take him, again, instead of her. 

She was very angrily glaring at him, and somehow, he found it to be adorably cute, but he wouldn’t budge. She hadn’t ordered him last night, and he, well, he now had stronger motivations that just duty to protect her. Although, a small voice argued in his head, was it always just duty Link? And he didn’t want to dwell on that too much. He guessed perhaps it’d been easier to hide when she hated him. It was all okay if he harboured anything deeper than a desire to fulfil his duty, because those feelings would never come to light, not when she wanted him and his sword banished from Hyrule. But now, when she didn’t hate him, when she comforted him, when she hummed _her_ lullaby to him, when she _saved_ him? How was he supposed to keep it hidden now? ...Anyway, that was his justification for his current actions. Right now, the priority was keeping her safe, and he most definitely would not let her be taken again. 

And what if psycho fat man turned up again and repeated his little experiment on Zelda? No. He couldn’t risk that. He absolutely _refused_ to allow her to go under that vile man’s dangerous metallic sphere toy.

Ultimately none of that mattered, because the Yiga Foot soldiers simply teleported in, and they stumbled a little, once they saw him alive and, well, just about functioning. 

They stood still for a second, staring at each other, “Wha-”

Link hovered over Zelda protectively, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stand actually, he hadn’t yet stood up since yesterday and there was probably a high likelihood of him fainting, seeing as how he was running on bare minimum blood volume.

“Is he blinking?”

“Wasn’t he supposed to-”

“Doesn’t matter, just do it”

Link only had enough time to blink, and the conversation was over. Two of them grabbed him, hauling his arms up from the floor, and he screamed, as the wounds in his back overstretched and the stitches barely held together in the face of such pressure, all the distress causing huge fresh waves of pain to rage through him. He tried to react, still, through the spots of coloured light that formed in his vision from the sudden movement and pressure change, but they dug their fingers into the largest holes in his lower back, and he howled, already too weak and dizzy from it all. 

But that wasn't enough and they continued, pressing their sickles into the front of his neck, branding him like that had done for Zelda. 

"NO! Don't hurt him- please, please we'll do what you want!"

Link's vision started to fade back into black, as his body, already hypersensitive after all the pain it’d experienced, throbbed in response to the latest injury, probably more than it would have normally as his neck started to bleed against the assault. He stumbled into compliance, too ashamed to look at Zelda, for failing her again, but what else could he do, weapon-less, hurt and frail as he currently was. The other two grabbed her, and she didn’t fight, probably realising the futility of it all, and they teleported out into…

Well. 

It was a tiny dark pit. If they stretched, which was hard for Link at the minute, what with wounds that were threatening to rip, they could reach the top, but the Yiga were fast, moving to shut the meagre gap by placing a metallic slab over the opening. Well, they could maybe touch it, but neither he nor Zelda wouldn’t be able to shift the weight of the covering upwards anyway. So they were still trapped, with limited options for escape. At least the metal covering had micro-sized holes in it that meant they could breathe, safely, even if Link wasn’t sure he’d be able to breathe properly until they were let out. It was dusty and nearly pitch-black; he could barely make out anything other than Zelda’s eyes, which glistened with the tiny scattered dots of dimmed light that came down. There was hardly enough space, just enough for him and Zelda to sit with their knees bunched halfway and touching.

The pit was infinitely worse than the cell. There was some space on each side, however, but neither of them moved from where they were. He guessed there was maybe enough space for one of them to lie out flat, but then there would be no room for the other person at all- they’d effectively be on top. If Link had to guess this seemed to be solitary confinement for one person, not two...

He was distracted by the now familiar throbbing in his back, that seared with renewed vigour after the latest altercation with the Yiga. He sighed, there wasn’t enough space for him to lie on his front to ease pressure on his back, and consequently he had to lean backwards on it, as there was no room to angle himself forward, either, otherwise he’d be on Zelda’s legs. His back did not appreciate the pressure and only felt moderately better when he tried to shift his weight onto his neck instead and keep as much of it suspended in the air as possible by arching his back. But that overstretched his newly scabbed over neck wound, and he felt it tighten alarmingly as he did so. He out a frustrated growl, there was no winning against his wounds, and he felt so uncomfortable. And he couldn’t even stand either, seeing as his blood pressure was so low, from all the blood loss. Goddesses look at him. He was _too weak to stand_. There was one positive, at least, and that was his thighs and calves were off the floor, for now, but it remained to be seen how long he’d be able to maintain this position. 

When it became clear that was all that was happening for the day, and they weren’t coming back, he heard Zelda exhale a small sigh relief. 

“Link. Are you okay? Can you feel any blood leaking from your lower back? Or your neck?”

“I’m fine, and no, Princess.” He took a series of shallow breaths, trying to control the insistent ache he felt. For Farore’s sake, he knew he was injured why couldn’t his damn body realise that?! Did it not understand that Link wanted nothing more than to down a potion and fix it all?! He sighed. The shallow breaths hurt less. He’d have to remember that and not veer back into his standard breathing pattern.

Zelda distracted him from his morbid thoughts when she slouched a little, but he could barely make out where her head was in the darkness. She let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ve thought about this since we were brought here, and I still don’t know- to begin with I didn't even realise the Yiga had researchers... What exactly do you think their aim is? Why are we even alive? What is their endgame?”

All very valid questions, and he didn’t have the answers. 

“I don’t know Princess. I don’t understand why they would try to-” Spirits. He hadn’t thought this through very well, with his brain half-focussed on what hurt and where and the other half on how he feeble he'd become. But he hadn't wanted to bring up that day for either of them. 

“Awaken my powers?” she helpfully supplied, glossing over the details of how, exactly, they'd tried to do that. 

He nodded and then realised she probably couldn’t see. “Yes. It seems counterintuitive to their whole plan.” He winced at the last part, as he accidently shifted a little to stretch his neck sideways and the first spike wound knocked into a sharp rock in the pit. Thankfully she didn’t hear. 

“Hm. See, that is where the crux of the problem lies.” She paused. “At least for you it’s fairly obvious. I think even if you had control over their _magnesis_ and succeeded, it’s highly likely they would have just killed you anyway. And their reaction to when they saw you alive... when they stopped for that split second and didn’t know what to do, well, I think they were definitely shocked to see you still breathing and kicking.”

He agreed... mostly. He didn't exactly feel up to _kicking_ right now, but he understood what she meant. “I don’t think they care much for me, Princess. The Hero’s spirit can be reborn in anyone-”

“Regardless, they need to make sure you’re dead because even if another Hero is born, they won’t be able to fight until, say, age twelve at least.” She gasped, stuttered and leaned forward a little and grasped his hand in hers, “This doesn’t- I don’t want you dead Link. I’m sorry if I sounded callous, I-”

He decided to be brave and interrupt her. “I know. I don’t think I’d be alive... if you weren’t there, Princess. We're being objective and trying to find answers.” 

She sounded reassured enough, “Okay.” And then she laughed, “I wouldn’t be either. They would have succeeded on their first assassination attempt. Which is _why_ the whole thing is so puzzling. They were fine with assassination, but then suddenly it morphed into trying to unlock my powers?”

She huffed, and then leaned a little closer and linked their fingers together. Link didn’t really see anything wrong with this. Not after he’d spent half the night in her arms anyway, with his head quite nicely pressed to her neck, her fingers in his hair, almost as though they were lovers, and his heart raced at the thought. But that whole scenario very much scared him; just how dulled had he become to the rules they were supposed to follow? 

To distract himself, he asked her a question. “Why do you think they moved us?”

“Two possible reasons. Either they’re planning something in the centre room, maybe a hovering ceremony over the pit and they can’t let us see? Or alternatively they have other _guests_ and we’ve been shifted to downgraded lodgings as a result.”

He laughed, and his ribs _did not appreciate_ the jostle, and he ended up sucking in short breaths trying to stop a coughing fit because, Goddesses, there wasn’t enough space to cough blood up here.

She squeezed his hand, “Link- please, rest. We can talk more after you’ve slept for a bit.”

He reluctantly agreed, his head throbbed, and he just felt sick of all the pain.

* * *

He awoke a few hours later, he presumed, but he had no way of checking. Zelda was gently touching his arm. She held the water cup to his chapped lips which he’d bitten on a little too much recently trying to hold in the pain. He drank a few sips, and then stopped, redirecting it towards her.

“I’ve had my share. Feel, it’s only half-full.” 

She wasn’t lying. So, he finished it off slowly, as she fed it to him in small sips, to ensure he wasn’t overwhelmed. 

And then she leant back and held up a banana. “I snuck a bunch off the guard but couldn’t tell you in time. I thought it best if you recover a little first. You feel up for eating something?”

He was already salivating. Hell, he was absolutely starving. But he knew not to rush, they hadn’t had anything to eat for three whole days. He was a little incredulous, “How did you manage that?" He paused looking longingly at the banana, "And... we’ll have to ease into eating.” 

Her eyes lit up, "It was the funniest thing. He just happened to have it just at the top of his pockets. I didn't even realise the Yiga had pockets, but you know, nothing surprises me at this point. I saw a glint of a mauve fifty rupee too, but that was deeper inside and really, money is useless right now. But the bananas. I thought it was worth the risk. And they were a little less observant, probably half in shock that you hadn't died as was expected of you. I think, Link, that's the first time you've failed someone's expectations." She laughed, so he knew she was joking. 

He chuckled, weakly, remembering to hold in his laughter, and he shook his head a little. If only she knew, how many of his own _expectations_ he'd failed in his lifetime and how especially, in these past three days, he’d failed many, many more. He vaguely imagined Urbosa and her frightening electrical abilities. Or Impa and her ten copies. Or the King. Or his father. Oh Goddesses. 

She sat up, splitting a banana in half, pulling him from his thoughts, "And yes, you're right, so only half a banana between the two of us for tonight.” 

She passed him his share, and he slowly swallowed down his first mouthful of food. Ah, it was so succulent. He was ravenous for more, but knew it wasn’t smart to overwhelm his stomach. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me Link. You've provided for us countless times, it was well overdue for me to return the favour."

He didn't mention how that was technically part of his job, because she seemed excited about it and really, it was a huge victory, all things considered. The pain throbbed through him again, reminding him of its presence. He hated feeling this sore. He’d never had to experience this… _lasting_ weakness. And it didn't take him long to detest it. Goddesses, if his head hadn't been swimming in the clouds of agony, maybe he could have stolen some bananas too and they'd have double the stores. He sighed and added yet another failure to his ever-growing list. 

“Say, Link, to distract myself from eating the other half,” he chuckled, despite the pain, maybe in spite of the pain, “what do you say we ask each other random questions for a while? I’m sorry that I never made an effort to get to know my Knight a little more, but, well, I’m hopeful we can start today? Only if you want, to-to talk, I know you, well, you're not a fan, but... And we’ll stop the minute you feel too tired, or even if you're unable to with your injuries I'd understand-” 

He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face, at the mention of being _her_ Knight and he was doubly excited because this would serve as a good distractor to the dark haze that had somehow descended on him. He was sure she'd continue to anxiously try backtrack to not impose on him, but really, he didn't see the harm in them talking a little... And wasn't this what he had wanted, so desperately, just a few days ago? To talk to her, to try to show her that they were more similar in circumstance that she appreciated? To help explain that he would always be willing to help her, if she let him in? Perhaps... this would be a good way of starting that. “Okay, Princess.”

"I thought so too, it's fine, you need to rest-" She paused. "Oh, wait, you agreed." 

He smiled, widely, and it stretched the stitches under his eye uncomfortably, but for once he was glad for the ache. "Fire away." That was probably not the wisest thing to do, because she had a lot of questions. And he tried to answer them all, in a “timely fashion”:

“So where were you born?”

“Hateno.” He smiled a little, fond memories of _home_ scattered through his mind, his mother’s cooking, his little sister’s annoying behaviour, their farm and how simple life had been. 

“Ah! The dye industry village! I believe I visited for the… harvest festival, I think, once. Although we didn’t stay for long… I had to be back home in time for my evening prayers.” She sounded despondent, and he couldn’t have that; this whole situation was depressing enough as it was and if she was upset, then he’d be doubly so. 

He thought back and he could remember _that_ particular visit with clarity. It was all everyone talked about for ages afterwards. “It’s a nice place, quiet and calm." He should continue. Keep on going. He had more to say. "Um, a-apart from when there are festivals, like the harvest one.” SAY IT LINK, “I-If you want, I can tell you about it.” Goddesses why was this so hard. He wanted to say more, _And if you'd like, one day we can visit when it’s in full swing_ was on the tip of his tongue, but the reminder about her prayers and the shot of pain that reverberated through his back, brought back the whole Calamity, Sword, and impending Darkness to the forefront of his mind. And that was if they ever got out of this Goddess-forsaken pit. NO- he couldn’t give in. He wouldn’t give in. Even if it was so tempting to do so. 

He tried to narrow his eyes, so he could see her better and he could just about make out her face resting on her bent knees, and he presumed her arms were wrapped around her shoulders. She whispered a soft, “Please, do.” 

And Link, well, he was more than happy to oblige. And he had to make more of an effort to talk, if he wanted her to understand him, he would have to explain things, seeing as she probably couldn't really make out his expressions in the darkness. Plus, perhaps thinking of happier times would make him feel better too. And who was he to deny his Princess anything? 

First he told her of the harvest festival and the ceremonies they held, to honour Hylia for the bounty she’d blessed on them. Each family would give a portion of their crop, and it would be burnt in a sacrificial offering. As he progressed through his stories, of his happier childhood, he relaxed, and the words flowed easier. He found that she was a rapt listener, as he told her of the summer bonfires by the beach, the dances that went alongside the lively country music. He then described his personal favourite festival - the dye festival that took place in the middle of summer. Everyone would wear their old clothes, and the adults would prepare coloured powders that would be used to make dye, mix it with water, and fill octorok balloons with the substance and then release them into the air. They would play a game of _who can shoot the most_ , essentially colouring everything and everyone in bright colours. 

She gasped, loudly, “We have to go Link! That sounds like so much fun.”

He smiled, thinking of how surprised she’d be once she found out the dye remained in place for a few days. He imagined the King wouldn't be best pleased.

Mostly, though, he focussed on the food. And that was very easy to talk about, to the point where he even forgot his original awkwardness, as he got lost on the fond memories he had of all the dishes he’d enjoyed. He first described the starters, most commonly a soup of some kind, followed by the main courses which were often hearty and very filling. And then he progressed to the desserts. She listened, whilst he vented out about his favourites in each category. She started to laugh once he finished describing the fifth dessert that he was a particular fan of, and he belatedly realised he’d perhaps gone into too much detail. Him. Into too much detail. Wow.

“Link, I thought the whole point of this venture was to stop thinking about food.”

Oh. Oh yes. “Maybe you should take over, Princess. I fear we’ll never actually forget our hunger if I continue.”

That earned him another laugh, and he was proud. “Well, I’m not so interesting Link.”

He scoffed. “You’re the Princess.” 

She flicked his knee for that, and then told him about her childhood. She’d always been a little bit too curious for her own good, something that hadn’t changed much, he realised. She was forever wondering off, half in a daze towards something that had captured her attention, be it a butterfly, or the worms she saw when she played in the dirt, or the frogs in the Castle moat. And once she was brought to visit the Royal Ancient Laboratory, she became obsessed and henceforth visited every day. She learnt everything she could under Purah and Robbie’s tutelage, and she studied hard, trying to understand how to recreate the technology of the distant past. She wondered, if Hyrule was so advanced then, how had it all crumbled away. 

He suggested it was probably due to fear, and hubris. She’d agreed. 

They stopped there for the night, after Link twisted a little in pain, and Zelda forced him to rest. They fell asleep holding hands still. And he felt the small ball of emotions he’d kept constricted to his chest alarmingly swell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm interested- what do you guys think of this chapter? Did that go how you were expecting it too? This one didn't hurt so bad right? ...Right? Do you think it’s better or worse? 
> 
> Link is slightly down in this chapter because poor guy is in a lot of pain and is feeling pretty useless. And he finds it a little hard to talk to Zelda in the beginning because I think it would be difficult to go from never talking to someone, to now trying to make everyday conversation. It is probably a little daunting for him to remember just a few days ago they were fre-enemies, which is why he struggles a little in the beginning trying to reconcile it all. This will no longer be an issue for future chapters though :D


	10. A... plan?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations, more understandings, and a plan. An actual plan that might just work. ~~Finally!~~

Time passed and Link no longer knew how many days had gone. His best estimate was around maybe six? 

He swallowed, trying to wet his throat a little, as he slowly woke up. It seemed that every other day they got a cup water, although sometimes they got two a day, and then none for the next, which had been the case yesterday, hence the reason why he felt so parched. Every now and then they’d be given a few apples. Never bananas. There was no pattern and it confused him. Occasionally, they’d be chained with magensis and allowed out to the toilet, blindfolded, but there was no chance for escape, Goddess above, he’d tried to escape those bonds but there was no breaking it.

And just when he expected it, as his daily alarm, the pain made itself known, his eye wound twitched uncomfortably, as he yawned. The pain, although now significantly reduced from what it once was, remained an ever-present, constant reminder of his failures. Although the burning sensation of a fresh wound had eased as time passed, it still felt like his insides had been macerated with a vicious Lynel Crusher and then reassembled. He had Zelda to thank for her skills, because the holes had, at least, shut. Well, most of them anyway, he was trying his hardest not to randomly overstretch and dislodge a stitch. And he was grateful that his chest, and lungs, were a little less bruised too, so he could now at least take normal sized breaths without choking up in pain. 

He sighed, peeking an eye open to stare at Zelda. Her back was slowly rising up and down, a breathing pattern he recognised as her being in deep sleep. He rubbed his eyes, awkwardly from his side because he couldn't lie on his back, trying to force himself awake. Their "corridor-room" had been split into three, in accordance with Zelda's latest plan, so now they were essentially pressed up close in the remaining third left, but he didn't want to be overbearing on her, and force himself into her space. Previously, anyway, they'd justified it according to hypothermia, but that was the one advantage, ~~or maybe disadvantage~~ of the pit, it was warmer... which meant Link now had no viable excuse to hold her close. The other time he'd fallen asleep in her hold, he'd been seriously incapacitated and hadn't been at all lucid. And, now, seeing as they were in an even smaller, compressed, area, he tried to make sure she at least had a choice, because he didn't want her to feel obligated to comfort him, in any way, shape or form, that she wasn’t comfortable with. Oh, and there had also been the night before last, but... Well, he was better now, that is what matters, and she didn't have to console him, in that way, anymore. 

To distract himself from the sense of missing something that shouldn't have been, and would never again, be his, he sat up a little, slowly, and looked at the growing mound of earth just in front of their legs. They’d come to the conclusion by day two that the pit was, in fact, made of soil.

And soil could be dug around. 

Whilst they both agreed it wasn’t worth the risk of the metal sheet crashing down on top of them, perhaps there was something they could use in the vicinity that was buried. It was a long shot, they both knew that, but it was better than nothing. And right now, no one was attacking them, they were being left alone, in a way. So, it was perfect to start digging.

Zelda had forced him to sit still for the first two days (approximately, because they didn’t know for sure) whilst she started. “No need to go and open your wounds Link. I won’t be able to see them this time, to fix any tears.” He’d accepted, only because if he did force himself then he was sure he’d bleed, and he didn’t want to worry her more than necessary. 

But then, at the end of day 1 of digging, she sat down, in the depression she had created at the opposite end of their pit, her hands on her hips and in traditional Zelda style had exclaimed she had an idea. She recalibrated the original, rather vague plan once she realised she could actually dig through a decent amount each day, and once he joined in, it would be even faster. She had explained what she wanted was to essentially create a deeper hole on one side, so that instead of being level, the whole floor tilted towards to one end. Using the soil that had been removed, they would pile it in the centre, and hopefully making it reach at least three-quarters of their height. Then they’d systematically take away pieces of dried soil from the “ceiling” on the now higher side, and that would dislodge the sheet, which would then slide down the slope and into the deeper section, whilst they would be protected under the pile they’d accrued and then hopefully be able to squeeze their way out. 

As they didn’t know how big the sheet was, they were digging extra deep on one end and digging further too so that it would definitely slide down and out, and not remain on top of them so that they wouldn't be able to escape. How she'd come up with such a thing was beyond Link, but he was so grateful she had. It had given them something concrete to work towards, and most importantly, _hope_. _Hope that they could make it out. Hope, that soon, they'd be free._

He rolled his shoulders, in very small circles trying to ease his muscles back into movement, as his nights were spent very rigidly on one side to avoid accidentally putting pressure on any of his wounds, and he moved over to inspect the pile. He glanced back at her, she was still fast alseep, and he opted to leave her be, to allow her to rest a little. He could start though, seeing he was already awake. 

This was the first morning they hadn't actually woken up together, and it felt strange... It had become almost routine, now, to awkwardly try to not hit each other with flailing limbs seeing as they were now even more tightly enclosed than before. He stretched out his legs, wincing a little, at the resounding crack, before getting down into the deeper end and starting to dig.

As he worked through the soil, trying to be as quiet as possible, he ruminated over what he'd learnt about his Princess, which was surprisingly a lot... Then again, she always did like to talk. It had become an unspoken agreement, that they would both talk the hours away. It made the time pass by faster, and the work easier, because they could swap stories. Plus, Link found that it continued to be a good distractor from the pain, from where they were and how they were working against ridiculous odds... He could only hope the Yiga left them in peace to complete the digging, and that they'd have enough time to enact Zelda's plan. But the chances of something going wrong, of being caught, of being moved, of the Yiga suddenly teleporting in to take them elsewhere... 

Ah, but he couldn't change any of those things. There was hope, and that was all that matters. He'd hold onto that, and pray that it would work out. He had to have faith that it would. He was in a better space than he was when they first entered the pit anyway, back to feeling optimistic and upbeat instead of depressed. He attributed that in part to Zelda's plan, and the other, larger reason was down to his blossoming friendship with his Princess. He smiled a little, it still shook him sometimes, thinking over how much things had changed. How, now, the Princess no longer disdainfully glared at him, and through all their moments together these past few days, through all the harshness the Yiga had put them through, they had grown stronger together. And that ball of feelings in his chest only grew and grew, and he felt himself fall just a little faster, each time she laughed, cracked a joke, or flicked his forehead in mock grievance. 

In the first few days, she had gone first, in the talking rota, because he was never really going to voluntarily talk about himself- it still felt foreign to him, to be able to talk so openly. She had explained how the pressures to pray had become the all-defining point in her existence, and how her father slowly and steadily cut out everything, in her once varied schedule, so that it was now nearly only filled with prayer. It made her worried, stressed and overall, constantly in a bad mood, because she felt useless. It didn’t make sense to her, praying for something that had apparently already been given, because surely as Hylia's descendent she should have it already... she just needed to find the key to _unlocking_ the powers, but that was easier said that done. And it didn't help that the King seemed to think prayer was the only way.

He’d agreed with her, really, and promised to try to find new ways to help her. Surely there had to be a better option than potentially suffering from hypothermia in the frigid waters of every spring. She’d laughed, the sound soft and bright, and did wonders for his mood. 

On day four, Link had taken the bold move of going first. There was no guarantee he'd have more time, and he wanted to share things with her, just like how she had with him. So, he’d explained his side of things, how there was always a regimen to follow, he could remember starting his first from the age of four. In the beginning it was more fun and games, and then it grew until eventually he was inducted into the Hyrulian forces aged eleven, a squire to his father. He was just a child, barely out of his first growth spurt. He got caught up in all the glory of being part of something his father was, and he’d wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps for as long as he could remember. Barely a year later they’d gone on a tour in the Eldin region, to deal with a resurgence in monsters, and that was where Link had met Daruk. He told her the story of how he’d actually helped the Goron with a particularly harsh Fire-Breath Lizalfos, and Zelda had spluttered in shock. And then she’d shared her own when she saw Daruk have a mini breakdown when a _dog_ came into view. The mental image set them both off, and Link had to stop laughing pretty much as soon as he started because his lungs were nowhere near recovered to handle such a strenuous activity. 

He then told her how they’d camped outside the Great Hyrule Forest, on the way back from Death Mountain, and she seemed to sense his discomfort, knowing what was coming next. She’d come over and gripped his hand as he explained that he’d felt so lost, wondering around in the heavy mist, feeling an such a strong, inexplicable pull but not knowing how to get there… He slowly confessed that he hadn’t actually willingly pulled the sword- it had called him, and he’d been powerless against that. 

They’d stopped digging then, and Link had tried to just _raise his arms_ above his head to ease out the tension in his joints, before she suddenly came up and apologised for assuming that he’d just pulled it for the sake of it. She hadn’t realised it was a trial, she certainly hadn’t known how innocent he had been prior to it. She then summoned her courage and hugged him a little and she didn’t move away, that night, remaining half huddled in his arms, and he had let himself get lost in the feel of her, all soft and warm, instead of the pain and how exhausted he felt... 

But then, when they woken up, yesterday morning, it... well, it was a little awkward, because it was the first time they'd actually woken up, so close, in each other's arms, with her breath falling on his cheek, and his on her neck, _without the Yiga interrupting_. It had felt strange, and he was weirdly embarrassed about it. They had brushed it off, and after a rather prolonged detangling which left Link feeling incredibly shy, they both went about their day as normal. This time they had shared their favourite things (he'd already known most of Zelda's but she'd been intrigued with his mention of horses) but when "night" fell, and they stopped digging... It was another story entirely. He half wanted to retreat back to his stoic mask, because both of them were exceedingly fidgety, and he couldn't be sure what she wanted, or maybe what she expected, but he didn't want to force her into anything she didn't want, so he just pretended to continue to dig for a while, so she could take up whatever space she wanted, and then he slotted in, rather clumsily beside her. He sighed. He wanted to hold her close, to hug her, not only because it made him forget the pain, but because it made him happy, and at peace when she was within his grasp. But he couldn’t be sure how she felt. Of course, she’d never pushed him away, and she’d been the one to instigate it, but still, he couldn’t be certain she wasn’t doing it just because he was injured and she felt forced into it.

He shook his head, and refocussed, gathering up the various bits of soil he'd finished breaking, and clumped it together before carefully moulding it into the pile in the centre, which had now reached perhaps a third of his height. He paused, perhaps things had just moved too fast for the two of them. If it weren't for the whole Yiga situation, Link wouldn't even be on talking terms with Zelda, let alone... falling asleep together. He couldn't deny the role circumstance played in their friendship, and how the trauma inflicted on them had pushed them closer together, to become such fast confidents as well as each other's greatest support. Still, he was now much more confident now, in their friendship, and he'd just have to rein in whatever else he felt for her. Which was proving hard when she was so close, but he had mastered his self-control and restraint and he would be okay. Probably. 

Link felt his back twinge when he accidentally reached just a little too far to the right to break off a stubbornly compact piece of soil. He flinched, the throb resounded in his back uncomfortably, and he tried to gently moved upright. He slumped to the floor, and sat back, waiting for the wave of pain to finish. He was so focussed on his breathing, and working through the ache, that he failed to notice Zelda had in fact woken up, and only realised when she came over and rested her hand against his brow. This had become a part of their daily morning routine, and she did it during the day sometimes too, probably checking his temperature for infection, and that shook Link out of his little reverie. 

"Hey, you okay? You didn't wake me up?" she reached over to ghost the back of her hand against his neck, and he sucked in a sharp breath. 

_Focus._

"I woke up a little early is all. Didn't see the need to wake you up too. And I thought I might as well get started." 

“Hm." She shifted to sit down next to him. "Your face is scrunched up, did you overstretch again?"

Dammit. "Just a little. I'll be fine."

She sighed, heavily, "If you say so." She seemed to sense his discomfort, and moved on, "You know, Link, we’re doing good, the pile's slowly getting bigger."

He nodded, "That it is. Shall we keep on going?" He didn't want her to focus on his pain, and they really should start too. 

She mumbled her acquiescence and they began to dig.

* * *

The Yiga had dropped off a cup of water just a few minutes prior, and Link now had a fine sheen of sweat across his brow. They'd done a lot, in the past few hours, and the pile was now around 40% of their height. Slowly, but surely, the plan was coming into fruition. 

She plopped down, stretching like a cat, with her back extended. He bit his lip. _Control._ "Oooh that feels good." He wished he could do the same, instead of small circular stretches he was currently doing to try to get his muscles to open up. "According to my estimates, Link, in a few days we’ll soon be finished with the floor, and then perhaps it’ll take us another day for the ceiling…”

He nodded. “You okay? We can stop if you’re tired.”

She prodded his shoulder. “I should be asking you that!” 

He laughed. “I’m okay, Princess.”

“Yes, but you say that after everything. Even after practically having half of your body ripped to shreds you literally _said the same thing_.” She sounded a little frustrated, and his chest tightened a little, she was worried for him.

To distract her from how he’d narrowly escaped dying, he decided to tease her a little. “So now I’m untrustworthy?” 

She didn’t flinch. “When it comes to your own health, yes. You’re not immortal, and it would be good to remind yourself of that fact.” He didn’t say anything in response, merely reached over to hold her hand, trying to remind her he was with her, and not half-dead and bleeding out. “It was hard you know. Very hard, trying to-to ignore how much blood you lost, and focus on sewing everything in record time, with the needle slick between my shaking fingers, all sticky from your blood. I had to rip our clothes first, tie a whole bunch of tourniquets around your legs and chest, and then fold the skin and muscle over itself, even as it was bleeding. I-I am so scared of the infection risk, Link. We don’t have anything-”

Goddesses, he had to calm her otherwise she’d go from one worry to the next and it would inevitably escalate. He rashly decided to use her name, hoping that would bring her out of it quicker. He felt a little rush of excitement, this was the first time he'd ever say it, “Zelda. It’s okay. You saved me, I’m right here and I’m no longer a fountain gushing out blood. And infection takes a few days to hold, enough time for us to escape and get out of here.” 

She leaned into his shoulder a little, and his heart warmed a little. He wondered why it was so different at night than it was during the day. Either way, he wasn't going to complain, he'd much rather support her as he could- And then she punched him in his arm. Ow. “Don’t joke about your near death.” She took a deep breath and then went silent. He didn’t push her. When she was ready, she’d tell him. 

“Speaking of, well, death. I, I never really told you about what happened with my mother, Link. We, we already covered our childhood, but I'm sure you noticed I skipped out this event.” Oh. Oh _crap_. And now he felt like a right jerk, treating his own demise so lightly whilst she was thinking of _her mother_. “The event itself… it’s just a black hole in my memory. Impa told me she died, and I was taken away from the Castle- I went to Impa’s house in Kakariko for a week before the funeral. And then I was dressed in all this... black silk, and we walked all the way from Castle Town to the Temple of Time, her casket in the carriage behind us. The streets were lined with mourners, and everyone was crying… But I didn’t. I had to remain strong. I had to be the Princess.” 

He gently wrapped his arm around her back and leant his head on hers. “I- I just feel overwhelmingly guilty because I don’t remember more of her, as a person, as my mother. All I can actually visualise is her death and her funeral.” 

He tried to allay her guilt a little, “You were only six, Zelda. And I’m sure she wouldn’t want you to feel guilty over something you can’t change.”

She sighed. “The thing is, I. Goddesses this makes me sound like a horrible daughter, but half the time I just wish she was here to guide me, with these powers. And I feel disgusted with myself that I wished she’d remained with me for one more year, so she’d be here when my training was supposed to begin. Just so she could tell me what it is I’m meant to do.” His chest constricted, oh Zelda, and he gripped her a little tighter. “And the saddest part of this whole sorry affair is that the one thing I do remember, is her telling me that everything will be well in the end. And that I could do anything, if I put my mind to it. She believed in me Link, and I’ve failed her, as the Yiga have so thoroughly established, and I’ve dishonoured her memory by, by being _upset_ with her that the timing of her death left a lot to be desired. Goddesses I'm a hideous person.”

He reached over, and pulled her quite easily into his arms, wiping her tears, “I’m sorry, Zelda. I- I didn’t mean to joke about death in such a frivolous way… And it doesn’t make you a bad person to think that way. It doesn’t." He held her a little tighter, and started to stroke her hair gently. She remained stiff against him, and he realised he'd have to say something else, "You... didn’t just lose your mother, but your teacher, for, perhaps, what will be the defining event in our lives. So-so much is at stake and you have so much pressure piled on you to do something that _no one knows anything about_.” 

Suddenly, a flare of anger hit him, because it was true, they all looked to her and blamed her for not doing enough, but didn’t they see how much she cared? How hard she tried? And if they were in her shoes he doubted they’d last a minute. “Even the monks in the Temple of Time, the people who worked with your mother for practically her entire lifetime, don’t know. And this is something that you’ve worked hard at, for so many years… It’s only natural that you’d want your mother, the one person who actually knows what to do, to guide you.” He swallowed. He hadn’t meant to bring all that up... Oh well, he wasn't sure what possessed him to blurt all of that out, he'd initially just planned to say something about how everyone's eyes seemed to be on her and her failure to access the power but then he'd spurned out all these things that he'd noticed, and sequestered away. It felt right, and he so desperately wanted to reassure her. The hypocrisy bugged him, and those monks were amongst the worst offenders in his book. If anyone should know how to access the powers, it was them, but they didn't, and expected Zelda, someone who had barely reached adulthood to know.

She sighed. “You are, as ever, correct Link. You know, they often say in the legends it’s the Princess who is blessed with wisdom and the Hero with courage. Sometimes I think you’ve been given both.” 

He couldn’t stop himself chuckling. “I wouldn’t have come up with such a plan, Princess.” 

She didn’t respond, but he noticed a small smile on her face. She leaned against his chest and they fell silent, as she recomposed herself, and he held her up. 

"Will you go back to calling me Princess now?" 

Ah. aha. ahaaa. Crap. What was that about restraint, huh, Link? Self control and all that? "Um. I shouldn't-" Oh for Farore's sake. She was literally in his arms. What harm would saying her name make at this point? And anyway, he’d leave it up to her. Whatever she wanted, he’d do without batting an eyelid. "What would you prefer Princess?"

"My given name. Not my title. Or my position. But I'd understand if that made you uncomfortable-"

He pressed his thumb to her lips, just as soft as the last time he'd done so. "As you wish." 

She smiled, and he tried not to grin back like the completely besotted fool that he was. They stayed enveloped in each other’s arms for quite some time, both lost in their thoughts. Link took the opportunity to relive and recount each of his self-control lapses in the past ten minutes, realising how many barriers he'd just broken, and how he was utterly and completely under her spell. He cleared his throat, he needed to move away from her, lest he do something else completely out of line. Her breathing was a little deeper, and he worried she was falling asleep, because that would be awkward, and he didn't want the same situation to happen as last time. He must have shifted a little, because she spoke and pulled him from his scrambled thoughts. "Link."

"Hm?"

"Can we go to sleep? I don't think I can do more today."

"Of course, Prin-Zelda."

He stood up first, and then held her hand, pulling her up gently, with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. He reached the elevated portion, and made to let her go. But she grasped his arm. 

"I-" She huffed. "I'm cold."

Oh. _Oh_. He took that as an invitation to slip in beside her, and he moved to wrap an arm around her waist.

She fitfully turned around, so quickly he only had time to inhale sharply at the feeling of her rapid breaths across his cheek, those sea-green eyes piercing right into his soul.

"Is that the only reason why you hold me?"

OH GODDESSES. He wanted to bang his head against the metal slab for his stupidity. He shouldn't have called her by her given name. He certainly shouldn’t have agreed to holding her in the cell, and most definitely not in the pit. He should have stuck to what duty and proprietary dictated. He never should have allowed himself to get sucked in. But it was too late for that. Now, he had to decide what to say next. Did he tell her the truth? He wanted to. But what if she didn't feel the same way? Wouldn't that make everything ridiculously awkward? And that was notwithstanding how this would, for all intents and purposes, be an indication that he-he didn't just see her as his charge. Should he wait- No. He felt like they were standing on some sort of precipice, and it all hung off what he'd say next.

He swallowed, he could never deny her anything, least of all the truth. He sucked a breath in, his voice cracked and it came out as half-whisper when he finally plucked up his courage to speak. "No." 

He heard a small sigh of relief, before she shuffled closer, and linked his fingers with hers. He didn't dare move, his senses too overwhelmed with what this meant. Her breathing calmed, and eventually she fell asleep and, after trying to process what had just happened, and failing to do so, he decided to just give in, and enjoy the feel of her so close. He soon joined her, breathing in warm saffilina as his head came to rest on hers, and he allowed himself to smile a little, out of relief that, maybe, just maybe, she felt the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have a scheme for escape! It was sort of necessary to discuss the whole sleeping together arrangement because they are both very awkward and it would be something that Link would 100% overthink. But I think they’ve reached an agreement 😉
> 
> Also... we are now in the “getting better” side of things as we're nearing the end guys, only a few more chapters to go! Thank you so much for all your kudos and comments thus far, they really make my day! Next chapter will also be somewhat similar in nature to this one, with a little surprise at the end. 
> 
> As for what happened to me whilst writing this chapter- let me give you some insight into my two brain cells:
> 
> Cell1: avid Zelink shipper, lover of fluff, comes up with the most ridiculous scenarios that just won't fit it: eg-  
> OMG imagine if Link and Zelda went out to eat ice cream and Zelda got a bit on her nose and Link would just totally lick it off without realising what he'd just done and -
> 
> Cell2: rational Zelink shipper, comes up with situations in which to allow things to develop _realistically_
> 
> Here is what happened between my two cells for this chapter:
> 
> C1: We should 100% do more falling asleep in each other's arms. Those scenes are absolutely adorable.  
> C2: Yes, but Link's back is injured and he's you know a Knight so it would be hard for him to just do what he wants with his liege. And anyway, he's a gentleman, he won't go against what he thinks Zelda wants.  
> C1: DOESN'T MATTER DO IT  
> C2: Look, he's not just going to hug her because he's pre-calamity Honourable Knight Tm Link.  
> C1: *makes sad face*  
> C2: ... Fine. How do you propose we go about this?  
> C1: Why did they do it before?  
> C2: Hypothermia?  
> C1: YEAH! So now just reuse that excuse.  
> C2: It's a warmer pit, in the middle of the Hideout.  
> C1: USE IT AS A PRELUDE THEN  
> C2:... .... ... You know, you might be onto something.  
> C1: I am _always_ onto something.
> 
> Me: Staring at my assignments pile with around a cumulative 6000 words due in two weeks. ~~I am so screwed~~
> 
> Side side note: Well done to scarletfever for realising how they were going to get out, and I'm sorry I didn't give them a spoon. That would have made life easier, but eh, we are all about the hard life in this fic lol.


	11. Things start to fall in place!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No TW for this chapter, but if you ship Mipha and Link you should probably skip this one.

Link woke up, his arms wound tight around her, her back pressed to his chest. It was around... five days (?) of this new sleeping arrangement. Since his... confession of sorts, the night she told him about her mother, it had become a routine thing, and once his back was stable enough that it could handle touching the wall, she ended up crawling across to his side, when they deemed it “night-time”. 

And even though it always started out fairly innocent, with her hands kept to herself and he’d only loosely hold her, from some residual sense of propriety, by the time morning came round, she would have moved considerably closer and he’d often have his nose in her hair, and be holding her in a vice-tight grip, his legs pressed against hers. Or, she'd have flipped around, her face nudged into his neck, his lips all but pressed to her forehead, his arms wound tightly around her back, holding her as close as possible. 

Link was now used to feeling her heart beat in tandem with his. He was used to the silky wayward strands of her hair flicking onto his face. He was used to hearing and feeling her breathe, and mostly he was now very used to holding her in his arms. 

Although he had admitted that his motivations weren’t solely focussed on his duty to protect her from the cold, she hadn’t really brought it up since. Link wasn’t sure what to say, if he should even say anything, because Goddesses, he’d never felt more at peace in his entire life and he didn’t want to sabotage it. And Zelda seemed content with the way things were, just like he was... It made him worried though, because he didn’t know where she stood on this. Did she want to continue whatever this was? Past the captivity? She must have realised what he meant, for she wouldn’t have responded in the way she did otherwise. He could only hope that whatever it was that was growing between them... would continue. Because if it didn’t, he wasn’t entirely sure how he’d adjust once they left this little bubble, how he’d detach himself from her after tasting what it could be like. He didn’t think he’d be able to cope, watching her from afar like he’d had done previously...

He didn’t want to, he realised. He wanted to always hold her close. He wanted to be the one she woke up to, a small smile on her face before she checked his temperature, asked if he was okay, if he’d slept well and then flick his nose and tell him they needed to get started. He wanted to wake up like this _every day_. And the reality was that as soon as they left, he’d go back to being her Knight, she’d go back to being the Princess, and that meant rules and proprietary would prohibit everything he wanted to do. The fact that this was temporary, a luxury he would only have access to for only another few days, cut him far deeper than he expected. 

He thought back to yesterday, and how he had finally told her about his fears. It had all started when she had told him about why she rebelled. It was easy for him to see why, but she told him anyway, and he listened. She reinforced what Link previously assumed was the reason for why she hated him in the beginning, namely how it was apparently so easy for him to just waltz in with the sword whilst she’d prayed for years and nothing happened. 

And he’d confessed then. He told her everything. She held him a little tighter when he admitted that he didn’t know what he was doing, or what he was supposed to do, other than maybe swing the sword and hope for the best. He told her of the Heroes past, how he was perpetually in their shadow, and it finally seemed to sink in that something similar was expected of him, and she’d gripped his hand tightly. He’d also explained, that was part of the reason why he went silent, was the burden of expectations that he’d placed on himself through the sword, and that everyone else did too- in seeing him as a flawless and perfect Hero, as their saviour against impending doom. She now finally understood why he hadn’t talked to her prior to the whole kidnapping. It wasn’t anything to do with her, it was all him. 

She had gently hugged him, sitting in front of him with her left side pressed into him, and her forehead touching his neck, as she carefully made sure her hands were not on his back. She apologised over assuming he’d had it easy, for never giving him an opportunity to feel scared, or confused, because he was apparently ready to fulfil his destiny. And she said she was relieved he didn’t judge her, because that is what she had interpreted his silence as. It was an easy mistake to be fair, and he’d brought that upon himself. 

He felt her shift a little in his arms, and she stirred more fully in his grasp, pulling him away from his thoughts, smiling at him. It was easy now, to smile back, to ignore reality and bathe in the affection she bestowed on him and return it with just as much vigour. But at some point, it would hit, and he was dreading it already. 

He brushed her hair gently behind her ears, probably letting his fingers trail through the strands for slightly longer than strictly necessary, before hugging her one last time, because he was a glutton, and then he pulled away, sitting up slowly to not disturb his stitches. The pain had reduced, thankfully, to a dull ache, and now it only flared up with certain movements, if he overstretched, or if he moved too fast. So long as he avoided any really strenuous movements, he was okay and the pain was much more manageable, compared to everything else he’d tolerated. 

He crept past the mound, she followed him, and they started to dig.

* * *

The pile was now decently high, it was around maybe 2/3 of their height, and they only had a little bit to go before it reached the necessary height for Zelda’s plan to work. Link sat back a little, wiped his brow and took a quick breather. It was backbreaking work, as he stayed hunched over for most of it, coupled with his somewhat still inflamed wounds prickling at him whilst he bent and pushed soil together, made the whole enterprise uncomfortable to say the least. It meant he had to take frequent breaks to stop his back and thighs from clamping up, too tensed from all the pressure he put the muscles under whilst digging. 

Today’s topic of discussion was the Champions. He’d set out one ground rule and that was to not mention the arrogant bird. Zelda had acquiesced, snorting once he told her of the plethora of nicknames he had for Ravioli. To be fair, whilst he respected Revali’s ability with his bow, and his dedication to self-improvement, Link wasn’t a fan of his ego, or how he seemed to have it in for him, constantly butting heads at every opportunity. 

Zelda had just finished her story of how Urbosa and her mother knew each other, how they both supported one another as reagents in their respective nations. And how after her mother had passed away, Urbosa had sort of taken on that role, although it was hard, because they lived so far away from each other. Regardless, she was glad for Urbosa’s guiding hand, and that was why she always stayed at the desert for a little longer, whenever they came. 

He took a series of deep breaths, trying to challenge his lungs, and he focussed through the ache. He needed to regain his normal breathing capacity, otherwise maintaining any sort of stamina would prove difficult which would then inevitably impact his fighting ability. So he took to practicing to hold his breath, thus stretching his intercostal muscles whenever he had to take a break for his back.

Zelda huffed down next to him, and there went his focus. He absentmindedly put his head on hers and reached over to massage her back and shoulders both of which were tensed and rigid. She was used to fine finger work in the laboratories, not so much the manual labour that they were currently doing. She sighed, shifting so she was now in front of him and leaned back onto his chest, and he redirected his fingers down her upper arms, pressing into those sore muscles too. Hopefully she didn’t feel the spike in his heart rate. He had to pause sometimes, he still couldn’t really believe how close they’d grown to be, how comfortable he now felt with her and she was with him. It made him feel all warm inside, and he tried to ignore the warning in his head that it wouldn’t last. “Where did you develop such good massaging skills, oh mighty Hero?”

He scoffed. “You’re one to talk. You’ve got magic fingers too.” She laughed. “My mother. Her back always ached for one reason or another, and I eventually learnt how you were supposed to ease the tension out of the muscles. Oh, and Mipha once taught me about pressure points that she often focusses on when healing. I think that was the second time I visited…”

She twisted a little, away from his grasp so she could see him better, and he had to resist the urge to pull her back. “Oh yes, I forgot! You knew Mipha from before, right?”

He smiled a little, thinking back to happier, simpler times, but those were long over. “Yes. I visited the Domain with my father when I was younger, he’d been assigned there for the summer to cover a diplomat- I don’t really remember the exact details- I was only four. I became fast friends with Mipha, and Bazz’s squad. I taught them about swordplay... it was a hobby, back then. In return, I remember Mipha teaching me how to swim and healing me whenever I was injured, but, well, we never went back, after that summer. And I visited again, once I had the sword too, but that was only for the day…” He sighed. “It was disorientating, you know, seeing my friends who were still... children. The whole thing with the Zora ageing slowly didn’t really hit until that point.” 

She nodded, “It’s always easier to make friends when we were children is it not?”

He agreed. “And the third time I visited the Domain was after you approached Mipha to be Ruta’s pilot. I went back to visit and congratulate her, and see if she was doing okay with it. And it’d been years since I last went, and I felt a little guilty over not making more of an effort. I helped take down the Lynel off Ploymus mountain, Mipha came with actually. And shortly after that, I came back to the Castle, and became your Appointed Knight.” 

He felt her stiffen, and only gave a short, terse nod, one he recognised as her Princess-mode nod. And an uncomfortable silence descended on them that stretched on, and Link started to feel a little panicked, wondering what he’d said that was so wrong. 

She abruptly shifted, lifting both arms to brushed her hair out of her eyes and put it all at the back, dislodging his hands from her as a result, and she moved away, pretending to look over the pile they’d built. “Ah yes. _Lynel_ fighting. I’m sure Mipha would have been a lot more useful in this whole affair. For starters she could have actually helped you fight off the Yiga in the beginning, and not just flail around, failing to even run away, and not to mention she actually has control over her magical abilities, and you wouldn’t have been in all this pain even if by some miracle you still got captured and -”

Oh Goddesses. He should have seen this coming. “Zelda. Please, we said we wouldn’t blame each other.” 

“But this isn’t blaming Link. This is an obvious fact. A statement. No blame involved.” She made to stand up, but he couldn’t have her think he’d rather have someone else here. 

He reached for her wrist, and gently pulled on it. She rigidly turned to look at him, her face set into granite, and he nervously swallowed. “Okay, she would have helped me fight. But you forget, Zelda, that the Yiga were prepared for us- have you forgotten the sleeping draught? That would have done the same thing to Mipha, that it did to me and you.” 

She stared at him. “And o-okay, you are also correct in saying she would have healed me, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t do a good job either- it’s a blessing you even brought thread!” She stopped fidgeting in his hold at least and calmed down a little. “And that’s not withstanding this entire-” he motioned around with his other hand, “plan that you’ve made to help us get out. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to come up with it.” 

She exhaled, slowly, and he shifted his grip down to her hand, holding her loosely, so as to give her the option of leaving his hold but she didn’t move away. “We all have our strengths Princess... and we all have our roles to play.”

She hesitated, for a second, before she smiled a little and tightened her grip on his fingers, squeezing a little. That emboldened him, so he continued, “And anyway, I. um. I.” Oh _great_. He should have just stopped once she started to smile. Why did he invite himself to talk more on this clearly awkward and uncomfortable topic?!

She waited. And he ran his other hand through his hair, forgetting about his stitches, but the pain seared through and he immediately regretted the rash movement. But the pain sharped his thoughts, and he let it all out, “She would have healed me physically Zelda. But. I wouldn’t have been able to tell her about everything else, that I’ve told you. She wouldn’t have understood. Because like you said, she, she very much has it all together.”

“So you put on a façade with her too?” She sounded incredulous. And he agreed. It was very dumb, because she was his childhood friend, but the sword... The sword had changed _everything_ , not just himself, but how he viewed the world, and how the world viewed him. He was no longer the boy he was when Mipha had first met him, everything now held a different meaning to what it did before, and he didn’t know how to tell her that. So, it was best to just remain silent, and pretend. Like he did with everyone else. 

He coughed awkwardly. “Well, I haven’t really spoken to her properly since, I was, uh… four, other than to warn her off the mountain before I fought the Lynel.”

She sighed. “You know she would have supported you right?”

“Um, of course. But if I confess with her that I don’t know what I’m doing then that would make her feel nervous and hence less prepared-”

“Oh _Hylia_. Link, you never told her because you shouldered the burden she unconsciously placed on you- that you’re the stoic Knight who is ready to face the Calamity and everything that comes with it…” 

He nodded, and then leaned a little closer to her and sighed. “I tried- on the first visit after the summer. I’m not sure what possessed me to go back to the Domain, but it was shortly after I pulled the sword, and I don’t know what I was expecting really, maybe to revisit my childhood when things were easier but- it-it didn’t work. That didn’t happen. Because she was expecting me to be the same, as I was then, because she hadn’t changed, neither had everyone else and all of them were very kind, but none of them understood that _I_ had changed. I- You know how I explained about, well, being in the shadows of these great Heroes?" 

She nodded. "Yes, well, that wasn't the immediate reaction. I sort of first fell into a haze where I lost track of who _I_ was. Was I just simply a, a vessel for this legendary soul that clearly has a long line of past, pretty much always successful reincarnations? And when I thought back, to what-what made me different to all of Them- the only thing was Mipha, and our summer together. So I went back, partly to try to find myself again, because I didn't know how much of me was the sword. But it hurt more, seeing her, and realising that now, my whole reason for existence, my trajectory, my _entire life_ would revolve around this legend, and I have no control over that. I felt suffocated, because I couldn’t go back to who I once was, and I didn’t want to worry her, over-over this destiny that I have, over the weight of the sword, so it was easier to just, well, pretend.” 

He rubbed his face his with hands. "And that's why I didn't go back, for years. I only visited after you'd given her the position because I felt honour-bound as a friend too, and by that time, I was more in sync with the sword, what drawing it meant, and who I was, in the face of it's... long, illustrious history." He looked at her, and gripped her hand tightly, probably too tightly, but she didn't say anything, and he needed the comfort. “It’s different with you, Zelda, because I guess, you’re the same, in that you’re just as confused as I am. And... you're my, um-" 

Ah crap. He couldn't very well say soulmate. Over the past ten days he'd learnt a lot about her, and he'd come to realise that she didn't seem to hold the memories he had, she knew of the legends yes, but she didn't have the recollections of actually living through them, not like he did. Perhaps they would awaken alongside her powers, but he wouldn't push that on her, not right now. 

"uh, you're the one constant, in, in all this. You're always by my side, my partner in all of this-this Calamity business. And…Mipha chose, too. She chose to be a Champion and all that would come with it. Me and you, we didn’t sign up for this. We’re the ones who’ve been selected, chosen _for this_. The Goddesses made the decision for us.” 

She hugged him, ruffling his hair a little. “We've done it before, Link, so I'm certain we’ll make it out of here and... _together_ , we'll figure our destiny. Okay?”

That warmed his heart, and he felt a lot calmer, and more at peace than he had since he pulled the damn sword. To know, that she was with him, that they could finally, _finally_ support each other in this age-old fight... It was what he’d wanted from the start, and he was so, so glad that they’d reached that point. 

He exhaled heavily, and basked in the newly found tranquility he felt, “Okay.” 

He pulled her closer still, and held her tightly, his face buried in her hair. And there was another reason he was glad it was her here and not Mipha. But he wasn’t ready to tell her that, just yet.

The air between them felt heavy, still, despite the palpable relief Link felt. The looming ever-present threat of the Yiga, and the encroaching Calamity were both constant shadows and weighed heavily on him. He imagined it was the same for her, because she took several small shuddering breaths, trying to maintain her composure, and he didn't want her to overthink, and doubt herself. He wished he could protect her from her own thoughts. So, he did the next best thing- distraction. "Well." She looked up, and it pained him to see the tears in her eyes. He was right, even though he wished he wasn't. "So long as you don't run away from me again."

And that seemed to be the right thing to say, the mood changed, and suddenly she was frowning at him, and she prodded his shoulder. "Hey! I already apologised for that!" 

He laughed. "I know. Still. It's good to check." She seemed to understand why he said it though, and she smiled at him, grateful perhaps. 

She broke away, moving to stand, and he let her go. “We should…”, she motioned towards the pile. He nodded and they started to dig again. 

It was after perhaps another hour or so, when he felt something distinctly hard in the soil. He called her over and she thought it was strange too. 

They both started digging with renewed fervour, wondering what it was. And it turned out to be a weird horseshoe shaped object. 

Zelda knew what it was though. He shouldn’t have been surprised by that. “IT’S A MAGNET LINK!” What the thing that creates the cursed red Ganon technology? “But we don’t have the surge of energy needed to recreate the _magnesis_ like the Yiga did. We’d likely need access to an Ancient Furnace of sorts.” 

He sat down next to her. “But surely it can still be useful?”

He watched as the gears spun in her head. And then she put her hand down ~~his~~ ~~her~~ their (?) shirt. He fought to stop himself blushing as he hastily looked away. “Z-Zelda what are you doing?” 

She looked up, as if suddenly remembering he was there. “Wait. _Wait_. I have an idea. Urbosa showed me the electrical connections in Vah Naboris. It all links to a central _generator_ in the middle of the Beast. We haven’t opened it for fear of damaging it, but her scimitar literally flew over to the side of the container. That means it must be something to do with magnetic objects. I couldn’t sleep that night, so I trekked down to the generator again, and there was a small window to the side, that we must have missed before in all the excitement, so I pulled it open. And there was a giant magnet with a coil of wire looped around it!”

Okay. He’d be lying if he didn’t really see what this whole story had to do with her hand down their shirt. Until she opened her palms and held up a series of smaller-sized Ancient Springs, Shafts and Gears. 

He was shocked. “You keep Ancient materials-”

“In the outermost layer of my chest band? Yes. I always have emergency supplies on me. And ease of access you know.” 

Link didn’t know what to say. Or think. Because his mind ground to a halt, and then started to _generate_ a series of images that were _definitely not appropriate_. 

“But now, we can generate some electricity! Look Link!” 

She attached the springs to each other, specifically the wire that surrounded them, bunching it all up, and then broke apart the Ancient Shaft, looping the wires onto the thin shiny bit in the middle, before capping off the end with a cog and using an Ancient Gear on the opposing end instead of the cylinder thing. He wasn’t even going to try to understand what she was doing. She made sure to press everything together, holding her contraption from the Ancient Gear, and then she gently pushed the wrapped-with-coil-Ancient-Shaft into the magnet and spun it. And the whole thing buzzed but stopped as soon as she halted the movement. 

“OH, it works! But I just have to move it constantly, that’s okay. I wonder though, it’s definitely generating voltage but for current we need to complete the circuit, the Ancient Gear obviously is safe for me to touch but… hm, we want it to generate some electric spark and-” 

She sat down, fiddling with her little device some more, twisting so the coils were tighter. 

Link wondered what exactly she was missing. “Do you need to connect it to something else, like another magnet? There might be more in the ground-”

She hastily stood up, wrapped both arms around him and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, “That’s just it Link! Thank you!”

Link’s soul had officially left his body. It would be written in his death certificate that he hadn’t died from massive haemorrhage, no, he died from a kiss. His whole face felt on fire. He absentmindedly placed his fingers on his cheek, half questioning if the whole thing had actually happened. He could only vaguely register her clambering up, on the higher side, stretching so her device now touched the magnetic sheet. It sparkled with electricity. 

Oh wow. His Princess was so smart. She scampered down, buzzing with energy that he hadn’t seen in so long, and the sight made his heart burst. He could only smile at her, laughing a little, as he hugged her tight. 

Everything was going to be okay. They could get out of here. Before it was a simmering hope, and now, now they had a way to shock the Yiga into compliance even if they dared take them out of the pit. “So, the next time they drop off a cup of water, we’ll set up your device, shock them, release the sheet from its hold, climb out, steal their weapons, find the Master Sword and the Sheikah Slate and then run.” 

She nodded. “The best part is that we can now convert any weapon into an electrically charged one. So that means you’re pretty much guaranteed success.”

He couldn’t help himself. “Remember what I said about everyone having their strengths...” 

She smiled up at him, a smile like the sun, brightening not just the shadows in the pit, but those in his own life, and his heart stuttered a little. Goddesses. There was nothing he wouldn't do for that smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, folks, is the second reason why they are both aged 17. So Mipha (a confirmed adult, even when Link was a cute baby) was making marriage armour for an adult, and not a child. I know it doesn't come up, but it bugged me a little.
> 
> Anyway, I found this to be a really interesting chapter to write. I’ve never read any Mipha x Link fics so idk if anyone had looked at her diary from Link’s perspective but it was cool to try to understand why he chose to visit her at those specific points when he did- and I presumed that’s all the times he did visit because Mipha would have written about them otherwise. I think it provides even stronger evidence for Zelink (seeing as Mipha literally states he doesn’t talk to her) but you know I’m ~~heavily, heavily~~ biased lol.


	12. And so it begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: some violence, and blood loss. 
> 
> Link and Zelda finally escape the pit!

Invigorated from Zelda's discovery, they dug through the last remaining section which didn’t take long- they were practically there already, and spent half of the night ensuring the sheet was now somewhat unstable by pulling down the soil systematically along the roof length. Link carefully set up rocks they’d accumulated in the right spots, so it only needed a few well-placed pushes so specific pieces were knocked off before the whole thing broke apart, allowing the metal slab to sink in. Zelda made all the measurements; she directed him, and he complied with her instructions. It was a miracle they could even see, but her little device crackled up sparks of electricity that helped them make out the finer detail. It just had to be used carefully, but Zelda was in control of it, and he trusted her. 

They didn’t complete their night-time routine that evening, which left Link feeling bereft, and instead remained on standby, one person awake at all times so they wouldn’t miss the Yiga dropping off the water. The only reason Link accepted Zelda remaining awake for a slot of time was because of her insistence that he was still recovering and needed to be in top form for when they escaped. It was a question of _when_ , now, not _if_ , and that made him feel immeasurably better. 

The suddenness of it all hit Link, as he leaned on his right side, next to her, his left arm wrapped around her waist, her hand rested on his head, as she remained upright, alert. Tomorrow... it was highly likely they wouldn't be in here. And whilst he was incredibly relieved at the thought of escape, of finally ensuring Zelda was safe, he couldn't help but feel like this was the end of a chapter in his life. They would leave this little bubble, where their only concerns were each other, and how to escape, and be replaced by heavier, darker thoughts of how to save the world. She gently pulled at his hair and he looked up. She redirected his head onto her lap, and he had a momentary vision of the first time this had happened. Where he had felt so incredibly shocked and disorientated that _she_ was consoling _him_. And now... now it was familiar, comforting, and meant so much more. "Sleep, Link. It'll be my turn soon, and you can bet I'll be waking you up, _on time_." Oh yes. Yes, he should probably do that. He wondered though, how she felt about it all. If she felt apprehensive at facing the outside world again. 

" _Link_." Goddesses. Her voice carried a warning tone, and he recognised that he'd get a yelling soon if he didn't listen to her, and she was right, truly. 

He felt her sifting her fingers through his hair, and it calmed him, but the whole thing was still bugging him and he just couldn't fall asleep. He heard her sigh. "Your breathing hasn't evened out. Right, look at me." She knew his breathing patterns too?! He savoured that little piece of information, tucked it away for him to mull over later. He acquiesced, sitting up, flipping onto his other arm, and leaning back down into her lap, so he could look at her more easily. He winced once he noticed she was frowning at him. "What's wrong? Is it because it goes against your duty? Because I personally thought we were really quite past that Link."

 _Well_. That felt like a punch to his gut. They really were well and truly past whatever boundaries _duty_ had once set. He briefly thought about what Link from two weeks ago would have thought about his current position and priorities and how many rules he’d broken... Was it all his fault though? She’d very much encouraged him, and he’d felt alone for so long, the idea of finally getting along with her and giving in to the feelings he’d harboured for so long... And really she didn’t seem to care. If anything, she seemed upset that he'd potentially gone back down that route. She needn’t be worried, because for him, there was no going back. He was too far in, too far gone, to even contemplate that. He was much too frightened to even think of being far away from her, not just physically, but emotionally too. "No. It's not that. Well..." Now that he thought about it... it sort of was, actually. He was worried about what would happened when they left this pit, but that was because of his duty as Farore's chosen, as Hyrule's Hero, as the Keeper of the Master Sword, not his duty as her Appointed Knight.

It was more that _this was it_. They were now nearing the end of their time here.

"Link..." She played with his hair, and he had to stop from humming out loud like he was a cat she was stroking, "What is it? I'm sure you'll feel better if you tell me?"

She was right. "Zelda. I... If I'm entirely honest I don't... exactly want to leave, um-". He hesitated, how would he even explain? "Never mind, I'm probably being stupid." 

She sat up a little straighter, "No. No you're not. I'm the same. I- I know we have to leave, and-" She chuckled, "I should be happy, I am truly, for a plethora of reasons not in the least that we’ll have access to proper food, water, medicine for you, an actual bathroom and a _bed_ -” She exhaled heavily, “But for some reason... I still don’t... want to go.” 

He was so relieved, that she understood and even felt the same way. "Yes, I am glad too, it's just. It's not my duty as your Knight that's worrying me Zelda. It's more that when we leave here, it will all go back to what life was like before, with all of those pressures. And I can freely admit I-I don't, I'm... frightened to face what awaits us." 

She stroked his forehead, pressing her fingers into his scalp and massaging his head, soothing him. Ah, she really was quite good at this. "I'm afraid too. I'm so scared Link. It's strange, in the most unexpected turn of events, this place, that was so horrible, terrifying and humiliating, that gave us both so much pain... It's morphed into a place where for both me, and-and you, perhaps- into the first area where I've felt relieved, and... even safe, ironically."

He agreed. It was the same for him. But they would have to face reality at some point- they were on a ticking time bomb. He didn't know what the Yiga were planning, but they were unlikely to remain in the pit forever. "The thing is Zelda, what made this pit feel that way isn't the enclosure, or how we're protected from our destiny in here, but rather... for me anyway- _you_. Being with you, talking to you, sharing my pain with you, that is what made it all better." He paused, reached up and stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. Oh no, this was a bit of an extra stretch for his back, and it hurt but he pushed through. "Now, well, now we need to leave, recover, and fulfil our fate, but what makes it better, what makes it okay, is this time we'll have each other. Properly, have each other." 

She bent down a little, recognising his pain and by coming closer he didn't have to stretch so much. She ended up half slouched over him, her hair tickling his nose, and he moved his hand through the strands, pulling it behind her ears, and let his fingers trail down her back so he ended up hugged her instead. He didn’t miss her shivering in response. He sequestered that away for later too. "You know, it's still so weird to think you used to be the person I despised the most, and now-" She leant back a little, and her face was now very, _very_ near to his and he saw her eyes flick down to his lips, and Link felt his heart race in anticipation because he was so close, so very close, to giving in and just as he lifted his head a little- 

They heard a thump, and they both bumped heads in their haste to stand. Adrenaline thrummed through Link's veins, not only at what was about to happen between him and Zelda but now over what could be the Yiga coming, and he forced his flustered feelings into a corner. They scrambled to get ready, Zelda hovering with the device turned on and ready, but nothing else happened. They were both breathed heavily, limbs trembling a little from all the rush. They stood still, listening carefully. And in the silence that followed, Link realised it was probably just a piece of earth falling on top of the slab.

She sighed, seemingly having come to the same conclusion, and she sat back down, awkwardly clearing her throat. "Uh, um, well, it’s getting late, so, ah, to keep up with the rota I’ve made, I think it’s probably best that you go to sleep Link. Come here..." 

And he obliged her, as he always would. He ached to ask her what she meant, what she was going to say, what she was going to _do_ , hell, what _he_ was going to do. But both of their nerves were frazzled, and it wouldn't be fair to her. They had a job to do, an escape to make, and he needed to put aside whatever just happened to focus on that. He made a promise to himself that he'd talk about it to her, just... once they had left and were safely out of here. He sighed, he really did need to sleep, otherwise he wouldn't be rested enough to face their opponents.

His dreams that night were not just filled of emerald eyes, soft glowing hair and lingering touches like they normally did. No, this time, he was tortured with heady embraces, gentle lips that first pressed softly, affectionate and sweet, that then morphed into harder, increasingly passionate kisses. His heart thumped faster and stronger, and he was left feeling incredibly overwhelmed, a rush of fire surging through his veins. He wondered, in his half-conscious state, if it would ever be tamed. 

* * *

Soon enough, Zelda woke him up and it was his turn. He very nearly combusted once she did, half caught between the world in his dreams compared to the real one. If she noticed his extra nervousness, or the blush that he was sure coloured his cheeks, she didn’t say anything, and just shifted herself onto his chest, her arm loosely hanging across his abdomen. 

Nothing happened in what was left of the night, and they again alternated whose turn it was to sleep throughout the morning. By early afternoon, however, on Link's third shift, he heard the familiar clunking that happened whenver a Yiga had opened the small letterbox in the corner, and he quickly woke her up. 

Zelda shot into action, this time they were both ready and prepared, her device active in no time and the metal sheet flickered and buzzed, small green sparks flying around. They heard the distinct thud of a body hitting the floor. Link quickly knocked out the last remaining rocks that they used to hold up the sheet and pulled Zelda down with him, to hide under the pile, just as the whole thing flew down the slant they’d painstakingly built. It worked like a dream, and their higher side was exposed. 

Within seconds the Yiga Foot soldier slipped in and Zelda shocked him once more, “Just in case” and really, he wasn’t going to stop her seeking revenge from these bastards. He paused, thinking for a second, whilst the body jittered with the current of electricity running through it. 

He felt the need to address what had happened last night, but this wasn't the right time, they had to get out and escape, fast. "Zelda. You okay?”

She nodded. "I'm okay." She hesitated, about to say more, and he allowed his hope to flare up a little-

But then the Yiga started to move, the shock apparently over. And Link couldn't have him raise an alarm or something of that nature, so he grabbed the Foot Soldier's sickle, and quickly knifed his carotid artery. The man fell dead to his feet, blood spurting out of the small hole in his armour.

An idea hit him. “Zelda. What if I steal his armour? I could pretend to be a Yiga. And then we’d just have to find you one, and it will make life so much easier, not only to escape but also to recover the sword and your slate.”

She hastily nodded. And he pulled off his trouser-shorts, blushing a little, and she stammered, turning away to give him some decency whilst he stripped the body. Thankfully the red of the Yiga’s blood matched the crimson of the armour well enough that it wasn't overtly visible and he struggled into the skin-tight armour. Goddesses, his wounds did not appreciate the rustling of the fabric, or how tightly it cinched into his bandages, but there was no other option. 

The mental discomfort far outweighed the physical though- it felt like he was betraying everything he stood for, wearing the damnable red, but it was necessary to undergo the disguise. The mask was the weirdest thing to adapt too, it felt like a plunger had been attached to his face. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to breathe, before realising there were two tiny slits in the mask where his nostrils were. Goddesses above it felt so awkward. 

They clambered out of the pit, Link struggled a little with his back and the stitches, but they made it out. From their vantage, they realised they were in some offshoot of the Hideout, somewhat high up in a remote-ish corner. Up ahead the small corridor was another, longer ladder. That could be a shot. Perhaps hiding above would be an easier way to sneak out? Sure, he was wearing their armour, but Zelda didn’t have any, in fact, she was still wearing his very obvious, bright blue tunic. 

Link clambered down ladder just under their little outcrop, and a doorway was just to the left. Crap. He shifted across, making sure not to make a sound past the Blademaster that was standing guard. She pointed towards the other ladder and he nodded. Thankfully, the guy seemed oblivious, focussing in front of himself only. Actually... that was eerily familiar and he realised it was the same pattern of behaviour to the Castle Guards.

He was pulled from his musings when a scream hurtled out from the doorway just ahead, on the right in the small corridor, and they both jumped, clearly they were still on edge, which was unsurprisingly really. This was their first time walking free _in days_. Link grabbed her hand, and very nearly dragged her back up the ladder to their pit, whilst he fearfully kept an eye on the Blademaster, thinking they were about to be caught. But the Blademaster didn’t move a muscle. What? Why wouldn’t he come to investigate?! Unless… he was expecting the screams? Whatever it was, Link was thankful. 

Until something crashed and then a whole series of shrieks erupted from the room. Link pulled on Zelda’s hand and they both pressed back into the wall, and he looked inside, trying to pinpoint where all the noise was coming from. He slowly itched forward, he had to admit the Yiga armour was built for stealth, if nothing else.

It was a… distinctive room. It seemed to have several walkways of some sort between large boxes, probably containers for something. One had to wonder what was inside them though, what could they possible be storing? He refocused, four Yiga Blademasters were hovering behind three Foot soldiers who seemed to be looking over an unconscious Foot soldier, and Link felt his heart rate spike, a ferocious surge of anger flared in his chest, at seeing them again. Were these Blademasters the ones who had humiliated his Princess? They wouldn’t survive. He made a vow that they would regret setting eyes on her and he fully intended to keep that promise.

But Zelda gasped, and he spun around, too many what-ifs circulating in his head. She pointed towards the Foot soldier, and Link rather belatedly realised that the Master Sword was impaled in his head, and he was obviously dead. 

Oh. 

“Master Kohga told us to separate the damned sword from the body! It doesn’t look good, the sword impaling one of our own, does it?! And we need it in time for the ceremony, tonight, so hurry it up!” Ceremony? With the sword? Link felt his blood run cold, his previous anger cooling significantly. They had to be smart here. The risk of being caught was very high. And just what was going on?

The three Foot soldiers whimpered under the Blademaster’s instructions and tried to touch the sword’s mauve handle again, but they jumped back, howling. “IT BURNS!”

And Link felt vicious pride fill up his chest, that was HIS sword, and it would only answer to HIM. And, you know, his predecessors, but they were all dead and not here right now so. 

Zelda directed him towards the other ladder, and they clambered up, before she took a deep breath, looking around. It was fairly deserted, but he pulled her along anyway, and they ended up on top of the room below, and they now had a fine view of the sword, still embedded in the Yiga’s eye. Up ahead the corridor, was a storage of bananas, but they didn’t bother going in. It wouldn’t do to arouse any suspicion anyway, they were on a limited time frame, who knew when the Yiga would realise they were no longer in the pit. She whispered, “I need one of their armour sets, but I think now that we’ve found your sword, we could potentially take it. Maybe you could go down and conjure up a reason for them to go- say their Master Kohga needs them or something. And then you take the sword. I, meanwhile, will try to find where the slate is.”

He shook his head. He wasn’t going to leave her. Splitting up would be the worst mistake they could make. 

He twitched his ears. And he heard the distinct sound of someone humming. Link didn’t waste time, trusting his instincts as he quickly pulled Zelda behind a wooden beam. And he was right, because lo and behold they soon heard the sound of gleeful scampering, and the humming got louder as whoever it was _continued up the ladder_. Spirits! 

He took off, dragging Zelda to the Banana Shrine, and watched as a Foot soldier bunched his shoulders up and crept towards the room. “Oho, today is the day the Yiga will succeed in their goal! Oho today I will bless myself with the Mighty Banana of my ancestors!” 

Link shook his head. What a sap. He was dead within seconds, and now Zelda had a cursed armour set, matching his. He turned around, giving her privacy to change but when she tapped his shoulder he realised she wasn’t holding his tunic. At his questioning head tilt she blushed a little. “I, uh, left it on. Inside the um, armour set. It-it makes me feel safe.” Link was suddenly grateful he face was covered with the mask, because he was now blushing quite heavily. She coughed, “Um, anyway, the mask is…” 

He let this one go, and saved her, “Horrible?”

“Yes, but, don’t you wonder how we can see through it?”

Huh. He hadn’t even considered that to be honest. “Maybe you can give to Purah when we get back.” He paused. “Don’t show Impa.”

“Yeah, I’m not about to sign your death warrant Link. I’m fairly certain that would not go down well.” 

Link coughed, awkwardly swallowed and then looked away from her. Impa would murder him. She definitely would. Urbosa would then shock him. Actually the list of people who would kill him was exceedingly long and he didn’t really need to think of that right now. He ended up staring at the bananas, half lost in thought. Zelda followed his line of sight. “They might actually be a good distracting tool.” 

He agreed, and moved to make a quick round of the room, wondering if there was anything else that might be useful whilst Zelda amassed the bananas. In the corner, he found a pile of paragliders that looked suspiciously familiar. “Zelda… These are ours, aren’t they?”

“Oh! Will you look at that? Perfect, grab them, they’ll come in handy.”

He nodded. So, they stole the bananas and reclaimed their paragliders. The Yiga pockets were surprisingly large, and could hold a considerable amount of goods. Link also now felt considerably more comfortable, seeing as he had another sickle and a Duplex bow, alongside twenty arrows. Zelda prodded his arm. “Can I have the bow? I want to be useful and I need some way to defend myself in case…”

He nodded, and she kept it engaged, in proper form. He must have paused and stared at her a little too long, because she caught onto his surprise. “Don’t look so shocked Knight. I’ll have you know it’s a required Princess skill to be trained in archery.” 

He chuckled a little. And then, “You’ll do the talking?” 

She wrapped an arm around his front, in a half hug, “We are a duo, Sir Knight. I’ll do the talking, you do the… well, maybe, um, don’t kill them all?” 

He stopped. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”

She fidgeted. “I. Maybe a little?”

“Their aim is to kill you, Zelda. If I leave them alive then they’ll only come back stronger, and with revenge in mind.” He turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands. “They imprisoned you. They humiliated you. They starved you. And that’s only listing a few so I don’t-” He had to remind her why he was doing this. He didn’t want to be so callous with human lives, but his anger still burned hot from everything they’d made his Princess suffer from. And if he left them alive, then who knows, this whole thing could happen again. 

She reluctantly nodded. “I understand. I just wish there was a better way.”

He sighed. His fatal flaw was that he could never deny her anything. “I’ll… I can maim them instead. And give them a concussion so they are effectively knocked out and won’t come back to bite us.” 

She gripped his armour, although it was stuck to him, and she still managed to form little red bulges in her fists. He smiled a little inside his mask, it was now a familiar move to him. “Will it be okay? If we do kill them, Link, then that makes us the same as them, and I don’t want you to suffer the psychological consequences from, well, killing an entire race. Also... our aim right now, is to escape Link. Perhaps we can come back, with reinforcements and seek retribution later, but as of now our priority is to get out of here, as quickly as possible.” 

It would be harder to make a clean exit, but really, deep down, he knew he would regret taking all of those lives. Right now, he was in a survival mindset and anything was okay. Truthfully, he still felt incredibly vengeful, towards all the Yiga, but really, what if that man he’d just killed was a simple scout whose only crime was growing up in this tribe? These were not mindless monsters, they were people, and maybe not tomorrow or the day after, but when this was all over and he was alone, he’d only be able to think of how bloodstained his hands were. And she was correct in saying they could always come back, when they were stronger and more capable of finding the Yiga that had deliberately hurt them. He felt a surge of affection for her, for how she looked out for his wellbeing. He couldn’t help himself, and gave in a little, pulled off the mask to his nose so he could press a small kiss to her covered head. “It’ll be okay. Thank you, Zelda, truly.” 

She chuckled. “Let’s go, Link. The longer we stay-”

“the more likely it is we’ll be caught?” She nodded, smiling. “Allons-y!” 

“What does that mean?” He laughed a little. Always keen to learn, his Princess was. 

“Apparently, it’s a rare language that’s renowned for their dodgy numeral system, but I like the phrase for _let’s go_.” 

She laughed, giving him a poke in his arm at his silliness, the tension now dissipated a little, and then she linked their fingers together as they walked out. Link’s heart fluttered at the familiarity, and how she much she cared. And he felt considerably lighter, knowing he wouldn’t have to commit murder on such a large scale. Although, he would find those Blademasters, from their first day here, somehow. 

_They_ would be punished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whilst Link would have totally murdered any Yiga who dared come across him, I think it's fairly in character for Zelda to be more realistic and understand that the aim right now anyway is to stealth-escape and not you know attack all out, because Link is still heavily injured and there’s only so much she can do with a bow and 20 arrows. 
> 
> Side note: Did I just quote The Fault in Our Stars with Link and Zelda going okay? okay. Yes. I did. That was the first romance book I ever read and it scarred me for life. 
> 
> Did I also just quote Ten from Doctor Who and his catchphrase. Yep. Because that still traumatises me to this day. 
> 
> Anyway. Idk if anyone else is part of those fandoms but there you go.


	13. A chance for some answers?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and Zelda find the slate... and some truths they were not expecting.

Link decided to leave the sword in what appeared to be the centre room for a while, mainly because he knew where it was and the Yiga weren’t going to make much progress with it, any time soon anyway. Zelda agreed, so they set out to try to find the slate, and attempt to recuperate that first. 

They had no idea where it was, but the most likely place would be the with the researchers. They were the ones who would have taken possession of it, in all likelihood. Zelda insisted they must have a laboratory of sorts somewhere, so that is what they searched for. 

They backtracked, back down the ladder and into the doorway on the left, with their pit up head. The Blademaster who was standing guard didn’t bat an eyelid at them, so clearly the disguise worked. They awkwardly slid past him, and meandered into a large room, although it wasn’t as spacious as the central one. It seemed to have a connection to another room, with a small staircase up head, but Zelda was pulling at his arm, towards the opposite end of the chamber, so he followed her, instead. They awkwardly nodded at the Bladermaster, now that they were in front of him, and walked around the first box.

Link couldn’t help but stare at the architecture. Whoever had designed this place really should have planned for storage, why were there massive boxes everywhere? And the walls… why were they so disjointed? Didn’t that make the whole thing structurally fragile? Link soon realised what exactly Zelda was after, as up head there was a small doorway, through which they spotted the tell-tale signs of Ancient materials pooled at the table inside. 

Hm. He discretely looked behind them, and the Blademaster was watching them, rather intently. Well. Zelda was now staring at him, tugging on his sleeve, but he didn’t budge. No. It was too risky, they didn’t know what Foot Soldier's normal behaviour consisted of. It wouldn’t do to just walk in, and from the way they were being watched, Link guessed this wasn’t a place frequented by what were likely the lowest rung in the chain of order in the Yiga Clan. 

So, he guided her away from the room. What would be a plausible story was conducting surveillance. And they might as well scope out a little and try to move as anonymously as they could, so that this Blademaster moved on and forgot about them.

He merely tilted his head slightly to the left, in the direction of the Blademaster and Zelda seemed to understand what he was doing when he guided her to continue walking casually around the box, pretending to be on lookout, whilst really, Link was building a mental map of the area, and making everyone forget and subsequently ignore them as just basic Foot soldiers. It worked, the Bladedmaster went back to his natural stoic pose, and no one questioned them. 

_Success._

They climbed up the staircase, and entered another room with the same dodgy layout, and up the two narrower staircases, to reach a platform of sorts. Another thing that struck Link was weird were all the frog statues everywhere. Why were the Yiga obsessed with them? It was freaky almost, random lines of statues dotted across the floor. Although… the Sheikah were also a fan. Perhaps this was from a tradition that predated their split.

They crossed the small wooden walkway, and then down the next two, narrower-still staircases and ended up in a very bizarre room. 

“What…”

Yes. That summed it up. Link was very confused. It seemed to be a shrine of sorts, with eight lanterns in the middle of the central elevated platform… but there was only a single duplex bow there. They walked up to it, and Zelda gasped as he took it. He was about to justify his actions, but she was staring at the floor and then her gaze tracked upwards. 

“This design… it is definitely Ancient Sheikah Link. But what are these eight statues?” Each had the Yiga symbol covering their eyes, and all were holding a sword. Okay. That didn’t seem very Yiga-like, it almost looked like they’d modified whatever was here previously.

“Let’s just see… Wait- Link-Look!”

He followed where she was pointing at and sure enough, there was the tunnel that led to light! The exit! Oh Goddesses, to see the _exit_ at long last, they were so close!

Just as he was about to congratulate her, “Wait... That's so strange. It’s written in Gerudo. Why?”

What? The light was in Gerudo? She shuffled closer. And he finally realised she was, in fact, looking at the text above the exit. _Oh_. “My Gerudo isn’t the most fluent, but Urbosa did teach me the basics, um, the first word is definitely Gerudo. And… There, is no… strife? Gerudo, like water we… flow? With life?”

Right, they could come back and conduct research at a later point. Whilst he appreciated that Zelda wanted to unlock all the mysteries of the Yiga Clan, right now, their priority should be to find the slate, grab his sword and _leave_. Especially before this... foreboding ceremony started. 

“Zelda, we, uh, we can come back later. We’ve found the exit; shall we go rescue your slate and then my sword?”

She suddenly turned around. “Oh, yes! Sorry.”

He chuckled. Ever his absent-minded Princess. 

Although, he couldn't deny being somewhat intrigued by the Gerudo design... Perhaps that was why there were boxes everywhere... maybe the Yiga had only recently moved in, after modifying what was once a Gerudo... temple? He wasn't sure what Gerduo beliefs invovled, but they didn't just pray to Hylia and the Golden Three. Either way, right now they needed to hightail out of here, not think up theories.

They headed back to the laboratory, and no one gave them a second glance. There was one major issue with the lab though- it was _teaming_ with Yiga. There was activity everywhere, and Zelda pressed her hand tightly into his. He was uncomfortable too, the risk of being caught just significantly elevated, and he felt like they’d just walked right into the viper’s nest. This is where those researchers were from, the ones that had ordered the experiments on Zelda. Perhaps they could find some answers as to why they were even abducted in the first place, but he was worried they’d be captured again. And the impending ceremony also made him anxious. 

He turned to her, “Maybe the crowd will make it easier to slip the slate away?”

She whispered back, “Are you listening to what they’re saying? It’s about the ceremony tonight-”

“FOOT SOLDIERS!” A booming voice echoed from across the room and suddenly everyone went quiet, all the researchers glaring at Link and Zelda. Oh _crap_. Link suddenly realised they knew absolutely _zero_ protocol. What if Foot soldiers weren’t allowed into the laboratory?!

He swallowed. 

Zelda stepped forward, and he hastened to follow. 

“What are you doing here? Do you bring news from Master Kohga?”

Spirits. Zelda remained unfazed, and he recognised her diplomatic Princess persona, “We came to assist with anything you may need- such as transporting items, or anything you need to report back to Master Kohga... For the, ahem, ceremony.” 

The researcher hovered closer. “Oh. Well. That’s nice I suppose. Well, you’re a bit late. We’ve already set up the guillotines.”

The… what?! 

The _snappy neck machines_? 

He probably shouldn’t call it that, but that’s what all the Knights called them. Maybe it was a way to joke about impending death or to make light of something that was otherwise very depressing, he didn’t know. Goddesses above he needed to get Zelda out of here, pronto. No one would have a snappy neck if he had anything to do with it. 

“And there isn’t much left to do, all we need now is the supposed _Master_ Sword in place and those two fools facing each other on the stand, and then for them _to die_.” He clasped his hands together, glee evident in his body language, and his voice practically screeched at the end. Link gulped, and fought against the urge to block his ears. 

Zelda paused, and she turned to look under the end of the table, at Goddesses knew what, all Link could see were snappy neck machines which were growing progressively larger in his mind's view. His heart thundered. Maybe they’d have to abandon the slate. It certainly wasn’t worth either of their necks in Link’s opinion, although Zelda might disagree. 

“Actually, Master Kohga did mention his supply of spicy elixirs was running low. Will you be able to provide us with some?”

“Of course! And if his spicy ones are running low, then I’m sure his chilly ones will be too, seeing as they come in a batch... Here.” He bent under the table, extracted a whole box, and dumped a rack full of them into Link’s arms, bringing him back to the present. “Oh wait. I’ll give you a pouch for easy carrying. Don’t want you to break the vials in your pockets now do we?” Link just shook his head, and helped the man pack the elixirs into the bag, which he then slung across his waist. Thank the Goddesses, they now had a way to tolerate the temperatures outside once they did escape. He was mentally praising Zelda for her smart thinking, but then she dropped **a bomb**. 

“I take it the experiment on the cursed Princess failed.” 

“Oh? You interested in our research Soldier?” The man stopped, turned around and if Link could see his face, he assumed he’d have a smirk on it. 

Link’s heart stopped, alarm bells ringing hard and fast through his head. _**ZELDA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!**_

“I am. Both me, and my, uh, fellow soldier, we both believe that research is the way to go. And what we as Soldiers do, really, is to aid you in your efforts, because ultimately, without research, where would we be? We would be the same as the… _Sheikah_.” Link was shocked, to say the least, because this _little discussion_ was not in their plan. Their plan was to obtain the Sheikah slate. It was not to potentially trigger the researcher. But at the same time, he couldn’t deny it, he was curious too… And she acted so well, but then again, she was a Princess, and acting was a crucial skill. 

The researcher placed both his hands on his hips. “An _intelligent_ Foot Soldier. Now that’s a first. Tell me, what are you and your companion’s names?”

Farore. What had she gotten them into?! Zelda turned back to him. _What_? She couldn’t very well expect _him_ to come up with Yiga-appropriate names? What was he - someone who people came to when they needed to name their child? Actually, that had happened once, but that’s not the point! What- oh. Wait. A past life flashed through his mind as he hastily trawled through his recollection of names. Yes, this one would have to do. “My name is Ravio, and this is Hilda.”

“Named after our great compatriots in magic, the Lorulians. Wonderful story that one. Fits in with the best outcome in our illustrious history.” He motioned towards the massive tableaux in the background, with all the histories of the incarnations of Ganon. Although they weren’t depicted, Link knew each time a Princess and Hero were present. And suddenly, the memories made more sense, seeing it all laid out in such an organised format. It was very clinical, on paper, he realised. It didn’t feel the same when you were the one to have lived through each and every one. 

Behind that was a horrible portrait, it reminded him of Impa’s tapestry, except the only thing in view was Ganon, a swirling mass of red in the centre. _Good luck sealing the darkness_ in the voice of an annoying bratty bird suddenly sounded in Link’s head. He refocussed, pushing the Rito out of his mind, as he countined scanning the the painting. It had candles surrounded the borders, and the red lanterns formed a banner over the top. He felt sick. It was a shrine... it was the Yiga’s equivalent of a Goddess statue.

“As you know, Hilda, the Great Calamity is coming. The omens that portent its arrival are all there…” Now that sounded suspiciously like something Impa would say. Dear Goddesses, Link was feeling very, very, _very_ nervous. 

He sighed. “But, sadly, the Princess, just like her mother, failed the experiment to divulge out their sacred secret. As you must be aware, it’s only recently we came to realise, after all, that the sealing power isn’t a birth right as we’d once presumed. We tried to force it out of that hag Queen, but it was unsuccessful, she died during the interrogation, _without saying a damn word_.” 

Zelda’s grip on his hand suddenly became that much stronger, as she visibly stiffened, and his heart pounded, hard and fast, in his chest. Farore above. Link felt nauseous, hearing this Yiga refer to the Queen in this way, and he couldn’t imagine what that must feel like for Zelda. He discretely moved forward, and he pulled her closer, so more of her was in contact with him and that seemed to calm her down a little. 

The researcher continued without noticing, too busy in his tirade to pay them any attention, “What a complete waste of Yiga lives and resources that was, all of them lost in vain as she kept her Hylia-blessed divine mouth _shut_. Nevertheless, we did achieve one crucial thing, and that was to effectively render the current Princess useless, as you well know, and this was something we rejoiced over… Although you might have been too young to remember. Well, unfortunately we still don’t know the secret, and that was the purpose of the experiment really. The aim was to pry it out of her, in a way different to integration seeing as that was so unsuccessful with her mother.” 

Link still didn’t follow. Why would they do that? Why try to force the power out? And he was growing increasingly worried for Zelda, because she was beginning to shake a little. His composure would be frayed too, if he was learning of the truth about his mother’s death. 

“At least for the next time, we’ve got some more data out of the Princess... At the rate things are going it’s unlikely we’ll need it, because Ganon’s success is almost guaranteed, but it would be good to know for the future… We’ve ruled out physical damage, as well as psychological trauma as the trigger because they both failed to evoke anything. Neither did seeing her Knight nearly die, which would constitute emotional trauma. Then again, she never was much of a fan of him to begin with, so perhaps it would have been more effective with someone else. Regardless, it all failed, and she didn’t develop the powers. That answer your question miss?” 

Link felt his heart still a little. What did he mean by emotional trauma? Did… Zelda not care enough about him? But what did her affection, or lack of, apparently, towards him have to do with anything? And anyway, that was before everything they had since shared- they’d only just become not-enemies at that point in time. Now, they had progressed well into the realms of friendship, and if the way he woke up every morning, if the lingering touches, if that near-miss kiss was any indication, they were probably verging on something else… 

Only belatedly did he realise that Zelda hadn’t replied, and the researcher was staring at them, whilst they were both lost in their own thoughts. He could feel her vibrating properly now, and knew she was likely trying her hardest to contain everything, so Link bundled up his courage, and fortified himself. He spoke, for the two them, no, for her, because he do anything, _anything_ , for her. “But why? Why would you want to try to force it out of her? I-I mean, our aim is to ensure the Calamity has no, uh, hinderance, and wouldn’t this be a really big one, if it did work?” Goddesses above. He wasn’t meant for all this fancy research talk. Link was itching to just pull the sickle out and start doing some formations to calm himself down. Really, what he wanted was for someone to hand him the slate, and then he’d go claim his rightful sword, and then he’d cart Zelda out of here. 

“Well, she’s going to die anyway, isn’t she? She’s in a pit for Yuga’s sake, and about to be beheaded tonight, in a ceremony that we’ve all been planning. We've only waited until this evening, because today is our anniversary split from those fake, traitorous Sheikah. Can’t you see the symbolism? We destroy, in one fell swoop, the entire purpose of those treasonous descendants of the Ancient Sheikah! The Hero was supposed to have died before, but actually, it works out even better this way. The two, hand in hand, were supposed to what? Bring light to the land? HAH, well then their deaths will most assuredly bring darkness, and that is what the Calamity favours the most!" He gestured wildly with his arms, all flailing around whilst he continued, impassioned.

And Link just stared, at the show, feeling increasingly sick to his stomach. Just how deranged did the Yiga get? The researcher suddenly paused though, his hands in mid-air, before his neck snapped and he shot forward, close to Link's face, "Wait- How do you not know that? Were you out of the Hideout or something? Living under a rock?"

FARORE! But apparently, it was a rhetorical question becuase he simply continued on, leaving Link to hold in a breathy exhale of relief, "And of course it was worth it, because if we figured out the secret then we could effectively stop _any_ future incarnation of the Princess from developing her powers and subsequently, ensure Ganon remains alive indefinitely!” The researcher sounded very indignant. 

_Wow_. Okay, well, Link needed to get out them here, Zelda’s fingers were now acting as a tourniquet clamp around his fingers, and she was now visibly shaking in his grip, he needed to say something, quickly. “That… is an admirable goal.”

“It sure is. Pity it failed.”

Link suddenly had an idea. It was risky, but it was worth a shot. “Master Kohga inquired, actually, about the progress with the, um, I believed he called it the, uh, device the Princess had?” THANK THE GODDESSES HE HADN’T CALLED IT THE SHEIKAH SLATE. His heart rate spiked, spirits, this whole conversation reminded him why he didn’t speak anymore. The sheer potential for things to go wrong was sky high. 

“Oh? We’ve named it the Yiga Slate. It doesn’t do much other than snap pictures. Although, we assume it MUST do more, but we haven’t had the time to investigate just yet. Perhaps he might want it to commemorate tonight’s event.”

Bingo. “I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”

The researcher handed it over to him. “Well, here it is. See you tonight Ravio.”

He was waiting for something. Crap. Link’s heart nearly gave up from all the stress he’d put in under in the past fifteen minutes. They were so damn _underprepared_. What did the Yiga say as goodbye? The Sheikah said _May the Goddess Hylia smile on you_. Okay. He would try this version and hope for the best. “May the Calamity smile upon you.”

The Yiga nodded. “And on you.” His hand hovered over his heart, and Link hastened to do the same, before he whipped around, hoping the Yiga hadn't noticed his mistake, and hastily made his way towards the exit.

He felt his heart restart back to its normal sinus rhythm once he dragged Zelda out of there and as soon as they left, she ended up leaning heavily on him, to the point where he was half carrying her towards the ladder which they quickly clambered up. 

He sighed, and then removed his mask and hers too. Tears filled her eyes, and they spilled down. His heart broke, watching her, and he quickly pulled her into a hug. She rested her forehead on his shoulder. “Zelda. I’m so sorry. That was horrible for me, I-I can’t imagine what it was like for you.”

She only cried harder into his shoulder, and he gently rubbed her back. He was absolutely terrified of someone finding them there, and of someone discovering they were in fact, not in the pit. And they were running on a timer, sooner or later the Yiga would figure out the captives that were meant to be beheaded were no longer encaptivated. Yes, he had weapons, but he had no idea how durable the Yiga Clan weaponry was, never having had the opportunity to use them. Not to mention, the chance of two people going against an entire clan of angry Yiga was not a smart move, considering he was still injured and all it would take is a well-placed attack on their end to effectively finish him. It left him with little choice, and he hated himself for what he was about to do. “Zelda, I- I don’t want to- but, we have to move. If we don’t get out of here soon, they might catch us.”

She was very much lost in her own world, “That’s why the monks don’t know Link. That’s why she kept it a secret. So, it wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. I’ve... been disappointed, angry and frustrated with her... Hylia forgive me, I’ve even _cursed_ her after Father scolded me harshly for failing to unlock the power after praying at the Spring of Courage for twelve hours. I’ve been so upset with her, for the entirety of my life, wondering why she couldn’t just write me a note, a diary entry, _anything_ , saying how I was supposed to do it. And she _died_ Link. _She died protecting the secret._ And I-”

He switched to forming small circles in the small of her back and leaned back a little so he could wipe her tears gently. “You didn’t know Zelda.” He pressed her face into his neck, his head on top of hers. “You cannot hold yourself culpable when you didn’t know.” Her hands inevitably formed fists around his armour, clutching at the crimson fabric. He let her, and tried his best to console her, whilst she cried. 

He pulled her back a little, after a few minutes has passed.“And, Zelda, we cannot let your mother’s sacrifice go in vain. We need to get out of here and unlock your powers. And then defeat the Calamity. We won’t let them win.” 

She tightened her hold, and he winced a little, the fabric bunching against his wounds. She looked so vulnerable, and he didn’t know what else he could say, so he just held her tightly. She mumbled something into his neck, it sounded suspiciously like an "okay". 

He took a deep breath. “You can do it, Zelda. I believe in you.” He brushed his thumb across her cheekbone, wiping the new tears that had since fallen. “And… from what you remember, I’d wager your mother does too. We’ll be okay Zelda.”

She nodded, stronger this time. “You’re right. Yes. We can do it. Can- can we just stay for another minute, I- I just need to-”

“That’s fine Zelda.” Her breathing slowly calmed down, and she took in several deep breaths, each exhalation less rattled than the previous one. He held her tightly and continued stroking her back, eventually moving to shift his fingers through her hair as well. 

Her voice was muffled against him, “We’ll do it together, Link?” she asked him, her right hand moved to enclose his own in her vice-tight grip. 

“Always.” He didn’t mention that this promise wasn’t just his. And would never be only his. And that every single time, without fail, he'd fulfil this age-old promise... to his final, dying breath.

He felt her smile a little, and he was relieved. She sat up, and wiped her hands over her face, covering the cracks in her composure. “Right, come on, we need a plan.” He was so proud of her, and not for the first time, he wished they weren’t where they were. Otherwise, he’d have let her cry it all out, like she should have, not bottle it up like she currently was. 

“That’s your domain, Princess. How do you want to go about this?” He sought her option on tactics because he wanted to distract her, and she was better at planning out of the two of them. 

They looked down through the window at the scene below. The Yiga were all still fighting over the sword, and now a line of Yiga Clan members had formed, each of them trying and attempting to pull it out, and each falling over in pain. The sword was pulsing blue, clearly it had had enough. It already had a master and didn’t need all of these treasonous hands touching it. 

Zelda frowned a little, a cute little dip formed in her brow and Link wanted to kiss it away, the same way he wanted to kiss away her tears. 

No, he didn’t. 

_Focus_. 

“You know, we could distract them with the bananas, they seem to have a weakness for it. And you just walk in, pull it out, and shock anyone who tries to come with, then we escape. I’ll provide cover but really you shouldn’t need it. And then, we’ll have to stealth-run to the exit because you’ll have the sword now, oh, wait, you could just put it in the pouch he gave…” They opened it and it was chock full to the brim, “never mind, stealth run it is and then finally, _go home_.”

He nodded. Seemed simple enough. She pulled the mask down, and crawled out on the rickety ledges, and despite his heart thundering in his chest watching her, he knew it was important for her to do this. Important for her to focus on something other than her mother. Important for her to feel useful, and help. She systematically dropped bananas all the way across the floor, the Yiga suddenly stood ramrod straight, looking around them at the magical rain of bananas.

One of the Blademaster's reverently caught a bunch of bananas. "Is this a sign for our ancestors? Perhaps... we are not yet strong enough for the sword. We must consume the Mighty Banana as they once did, and perhaps, then, we shall have enough strength to face it." 

The Foot soldiers all made vague noises of acquiescence, probably to avoid touching the sword again. One of them piped up, "Maybe we should go the Shine and offer our prayers first, cook the bananas and then come down. We should seek their blessing, and then try again. I'm sure we shall be successful then." 

A series of nods, and then they started to file out of the door. Oh no! They were coming up the ladder! 

He grabbed Zelda's hand, shoving her paraglider in it, before jumping down himself. He wasn't sure he'd be able to use a paraglider, with his back in its current state. He landed by the dead Foot solider, and pulled the sword free in one fell swoop, and it pulsed an almighty cerulean blue in recognition of him once he held it.

They could hear the wallows of the Yiga once they realised the Banana Shrine was, in fact, empty, and Link somehow felt humiliated he’d been captured by these idiots. He didn't waste any time though, they needed to escape, and _fast_ , before the Yiga put two and two together. 

Zelda was by his side, and they left, she shocked the Blademaster as he was about to turn around, no doubt trying to investigate what had caused the new hubbub. They darted past him, chucked a banana to distract the other once they went up the staircase, before quickly dashing up the next two flight of stairs. They retraced their steps, and then, suddenly, they were by the exit. She cast one last wistful glance at the Gerudo script, before he hauled her out, and then they were sprinting out of the tunnel, adrenaline rushing through their veins, into the desert, _free at last_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that clears up some of the Yiga’s intentions behind all this! This was quite fun to write, to give the Yiga some context and actual motivation.
> 
> There’s only one more chapter to go guys! Which makes me sad. But there is a surprise at the end!
> 
> I’ll try to get it out for tomorrow!


	14. Freedom has never tasted sweeter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s finally time to let them be happy. 
> 
> Finally.

Link pulled her up short, they were _not_ going to run through this enclosed pathway. It screamed suspicious to him, and the landscape moulded itself naturally to have small alcoves that could very easily hide a Yiga Foot soldier, armed with a duplex bow. No, he wasn’t going to risk them being captured all over again. So, he stopped her fairly close to the entrance and looked up. There was a naturally formed hole in the sandstone that created this little retreat, and he guided her to climb up through it. It was undoubtedly safer to climb higher, than it was to run across the entryway and spring the booby traps that he was certain the Yiga Clan had laid. 

They climbed, slowly and steadily, Link wincing each time he had to reach up. His back tugged uncomfortably, the stiches making it hard to fully extend his arms. He was reduced to doing smaller pulls up the cliff that he was used to, but thankfully there were plenty of small resting stops where he could let his arms down and roll his shoulders gently, trying to open up the muscles that were torn and shredded. Goddesses above, he hadn’t considered the long-term effects of Zelda’s impromptu surgery. She’d obviously focussed on closing everything, to stemmy the blood loss, ignoring the possible implications for his movement. And he wasn’t sure Mipha’s healing would work on a wound that was effectively shut and sealed away already, with muscle that had since grown in awkward and unusual positions… Well, if it had grown at all, he hadn't exactly had a balanced diet for the past fortnight, surviving off the odd fruit with practically zero protein intake. Perhaps the Goron Hot Springs would be best, that would help to reduce the tension in his muscles first, opening them up, and the waters were healing too, so that would remedy the structural faults and allow his muscles to go back to what they were supposed to be... Yeah, that might be his best shot. 

They stopped, once they reached the first plateau, and let the fresh, cooling wind sift through them and he looked at her, checking to see if she was okay. They were both a little breathless, him because of the excursion and the ache, her because she wasn’t used to climbing up mountains. 

She pulled off her mask and moved to do the same for him, and he caught sight of her smile. 

It was then that it sunk in properly. 

They were free. 

The darkness of the minutes prior cast a dampener over their elation, but finally, they were _free_. 

He looked over at her, _His_ Princess, her hair fluttering in the wind as she discarded their Yiga masks into the chasm below, and they heard a resounding crack as the masks shattered into smithereens. His smart, capable, resourceful Princess who had thought of a plan to get them out, who had saved his life with her quick-thinking and sewing skills, who kept ancient contraband in her chest guard, ever ready to build something to help. 

She looked divine, like the Goddess she truly was, the sun streaks filtering her hair into a halo of gold. 

He came to another realisation. Or rather, he allowed himself to accept the realisation that he’d had all the way from when she saved him. He wouldn’t deny it to himself anymore, he loved her, and over the course of these two weeks, it had progressed from a simple crush, all the way to love. He loved all of her, her quirks, her intelligence, her beauty. And it felt all too familiar, this love. It wasn’t something that only He and His Princess had. He felt the sword glow a little brighter, as if it was giving its blessing. Belatedly, Link realised this might be one of the events he would press onto the sword’s memory. He wondered what else the blade would remember of him. 

“Link. We made it. We’re out!” 

He grinned, laughing a little, as gripping her hand, now coarse with all the digging they’d done together and then randomly spun her around in a circle and then another. She laughed, coming to rest against his chest, her hands on his shoulders, her eyes bright in the setting sun. 

He was close, so close to just giving in and kissing her. And the way she was looking at him made him think that the time in the pit wasn’t a fluke, that it really wasn’t at all one sided, in fact, it was even wanted. But he felt her shiver, and he was suddenly reminded as where they were. He needed to make sure she was safe. 

Up ahead he could see the next mountain range had snow on it, and they both quivered a little, as the icy breeze beat down on them. He pulled out two spicy elixirs, which they rapidly downed, and then he pointed towards the mountain. She looked a little disappointed, and that sent his heart racing, but her safety was his priority, it always would be. 

And so, they continued to climb. It was imperative they gain some height so Link could try to track down where they were exactly. He’d never gone inside the Hideout before, and he'd been knocked out throughout the journey here, so he didn’t know how to get back to civilisation from wherever this enclose was. 

They reached another plateau of sorts, and a bunch of lone pine trees stood up ahead, stark in the otherwise pristine background. His and Zelda’s footsteps were the only ones to disturb the thick layer of snow. Link guided them over to the trees, hopefully there would be some sort of fruit they could harvest, perhaps wildberries? He was proved right, there were a whole host of small outcroppings and Zelda helped him gather them up. He chopped down a tree, collected the wood, and he also broke apart a small rock where he obtained some flint. Sadly, that broke the first Sickle so he now had one less weapon, but he had his sword and that was all he needed really. He didn’t want to dull the blade, even if it would never break. It didn’t seem right, after all, abusing such a sacred sword to cut down rocks. 

He heard a howl in the distance, and immediately pushed Zelda behind him, whipped out the duplex bow and prepared himself, waiting for the wolfos to show up. It wasn’t an unusual sight up the freezing mountains, but he was not going to let her get hurt, not again on his watch, _never again_ , on his watch. He spotted the tail of one, took a deep breath, aimed, and his back twinged in pain as he stretched to hold the bow, dammit, his arm shook a little as he released the arrow which the bow split in into two, with only one just about hitting the wolfos. He had wanted a clean shot, but clearly, his injuries had impacted his aim and that would take some time to heal. Behind him he heard another yelp, alarmingly, but Zelda was already aiming, and the wolfos went down. 

Had he mentioned he loved her? 

“Don’t look at me like that Link. It was nothing really.” She was blushing, and the first time that had happened Link had felt like he was crossing a barrier no Knight should cross. And now? Now, he was proud. 

He pulled her close, tucked her hair behind her ear, as he prone to doing, “It was a beautiful shot, Zelda.”

And that set her off to a darker shade of red, whilst he collected the meat before it froze over. 

He smiled at her and directed her across the edge of the plateau. He wanted to see if he could make out any landmarks. He could see the Gerudo Canyon up ahead, a giant gaping hole that seemed to have no end. He briefly wondered how many sinkholes were truly present in the desert... Past that he could make out Birida Lookout, and hence finally obtained a sense of direction. That meant the plateau ahead of them was Sapphia’s Table, and beyond that would be the Taafei Hill, which they could paraglide down, relatively easily, to reach Gerudo Canyon Stable. That was the closest, safe place which they could feasibly reach by nightfall, considering it was currently late afternoon, he glanced at the sun, estimating the time according to it's position and okay, scratch that, it was _very_ late afternoon, around 5-6 pm. It would be a stretch to reach the stable, and he wasn’t sure Zelda would be up for travelling all that way. 

She followed his line of sight. “It appears the nearest place for shelter would be Gerudo Canyon Stable, correct?”

He nodded, “I would estimate that’s at least three hours away… considering I will need to take breaks to not overstretch my back whilst we paraglide down.” He frowned. He hadn’t realised just how badly injured he was before, as he had avoided using his back for much of their imprisonment. And now they were free and moving, he belatedly realised the road to recovery would be a long one. 

She looked critically at his back. “I’m not sure you’ll be able to do three hours of flying in one go Link, even with breaks. It might be best we stop after the first leg for the night, and then cover the rest of the distance in the morning once you have recuperated a little. And it’s been really strenuous, these past few days.”

That made sense. He wasn’t entirely sure his stitches would hold either, she’d done a wonderful job, all things considered, but it was using embroidery thread after all. 

“Okay. What do you think of this- let’s paraglide down this first section, to the ledge just below, and then set up camp? I’m sure we can, um, roast the meat together with some of the wildberries and have an actual meal. I’ll leave the cooking to you, I’m not very good at it and I don’t want to poison you, and or burn the whole thing, on our first night out.” 

He laughed. How could she poison him with literally three ingredients that were completely safe? And… he knew what she meant by their night out, but, surely, he could tease her a little? “It’s a date then.” He smirked at her, watched as her blush grew progressively, and she stammered a little.

He chuckled, and then looked away, lest he lose all semblance of self-control and kiss her there and then. To distract himself, he begrudgingly got out his paraglider. 

He was not looking forward to this.

* * *

Zelda had just lit the fire. Link had been incapable of moving his arms without being in searing pain, after their short descent. Because using the paraglider meant not only raising his hands completely above his head, which, already, was an uncomfortable venture, but also, putting his entire body weight into said arms, which in turn tensed his back, and that now throbbed. 

Goddesses above, his hands were shaking, and he was red-faced, partly due to trying hold in the pain and secondly from his embarrassment that he was now suddenly incapable of doing the most basic of things. How was he going to get back into fighting form?!

The Darkness loomed in his mind’s view, but then Zelda turned around, her emerald eyes turning almost amber from the flames, and he was lost. 

He blinked, um, what was he supposed to be doing? Other than wallow in self-pity and/or Zelda? Oh yes, he needed to get the food ready. He grabbed some fresh snow and held it over the edge of the fire, so it melted, and drank some of it, using the rest to wash his hands. They’d cut around the edge of the Yiga outfit, so their hands were free to complete basic tasks. He crushed some wildberries and coated them along one side of the meat, and then held both pieces of prime meat over the fire to slowly roast them. Within twenty minutes the whole thing was ready, and he and Zelda sat down, backs to the cliff, their legs by the fire, and munched away. They each drank a spicy elixir, and then leant back, looking over the Canyon. It was a clear night, thankfully, no snowstorms in sight, and that meant they could see the starts in all their beauty. Goddesses. Just the feel of the wind across his cheek, the heat from the fire, the warmth of food in his stomach... and the feel of her so close, all of it felt so good. It was a blessing, he realised. A blessing to be able to breathe fresh air. A blessing to have a proper meal. A blessing to be free, with Zelda by his side. 

It seemed he wasn't the only one reminiscing, for she spoke up. “I-I want to thank you, Link.” He turned to look at her. “I, I don’t think I’d have made it out if it were not for you.”

He grasped her hand and linked their fingers, “I wouldn’t have either, Zelda. Quite literally I would have died, so I should be thanking you too.”

She fisted her free hand, and worried her lip, and Link momentarily lost focus, “I have something to confess. I, I didn’t. Oh Goddesses. My powers, Link. I didn’t realise they could- well, I don’t know, but I didn’t think to pray to Hylia whilst you were in the... dome. I was trying to figure out how it was working, in an attempt to stop it, and you were only in there for around twenty minutes- I was attempting to recompose myself for the first five, and I thought you’d be fine fighting against that man, and then I saw the researchers and I probably spent a little too long trying to figure out what they wanted, or if they were controlling the dome somehow, and by the time I looked back at you, that's when you screamed as the giant metal ball rammed into your body. So, so I was rather slow to realise something was wrong. By then, it was- it was too late, and they were dragging you over, and you were literally colouring the sand red, and I-”

Goddesses above. “Zelda. I know you tried your hardest, please, don’t beat yourself over it. I think that researcher was just saying that in spite probably. Don’t worry about it, okay?” 

She hesitantly nodded, and shuffled a little closer. She leant her head on his shoulder, and he tightened his hold on her hand. He looked down, and saw her smiling a little, her gaze focussed out to the stars. “You know, Link, I… I’ve learnt a lot, these past two weeks. Not just about, you know, the Calamity, and the Yiga… But, about myself really. I’ve realised my own strengths and weaknesses, where I fall short, where I make assumptions, where I, rightly or wrongly, place blame… But, the one thing, above all else, is that I’ve come to understand what I’ve always taken for granted.” 

As she said that she looked up, that striking verdant gaze fixated on him, and his heart rate suddenly tripled. “I promise, now, not to do so again.”

In the name of Farore, how was he supposed to answer that?! He decided to go for the truth. "I've learnt a lot as well, Zelda. I've realised that, well, failure doesn't necessarily mean all hope is lost, because out of every failure... something good will happen as a consequence, a-a blessing, that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Because, sometimes things have to get worse before they get better." He gently stroked her knuckles, his touch conveying what he couldn't say, and she blushed. Good, she understood what he meant then.

"There's one other thing, I've learned..." She paused, took a deep breath, and he waited, patiently. "Time is precious, Link. We do not know how much of it we have, and only when it's gone do we realise how much of it we wasted." She moved just a little closer, "I, I don't want to waste more time, Link, I want to-to seize the moment."

... What was she saying? What it what he thought she meant? “I- I’ve never been very good at the whole speech thing, Zelda.” She chuckled, but stopped when he decided to show her instead; he moved his other arm across, and lightly traced his fingers up her arm, onto her neck and fisted her hair, the strands somewhat greasy after so many days in a pit, but still soft, and gently pulled her to him, as he turned to face her properly.

She came, very compliantly and it wasn't like there was much distance between them to begin with. He slowly let go of her hand, and reached out and grasped her waist, and held her closer still. She smiled at him, reaching up and gently trailing her hands through his hair, before resting them on his face. His heart thundered hard and fast; his pulse echoed in his eardrum, but he had to check, he had to make sure, “Zelda, is-is this something that you want?"

"Goddesses Link. Yes. Do you?" She looked hesitant, a little unsure all of a sudden, and he couldn't have that.

He leaned closer, and knelt his forehead on hers. "I want to make you a promise first, I promise to always remain by your side, so you’ll never be alone... I’ll be there, every step of the way."

She laughed. "Isn't that what you've always done, to the point where even when I ordered you to stop you refused?"

He chuckled. "Yes, but this time, I promise to help you, Zelda, in whatever capacity I can... ” He leaned closer, her breath fanning out over his cheek. “Not only as your Knight, or as your Hero… but as Link.” He wanted her to know. He wasn’t saying this out of his duty. He would genuinely remain with her, because he _wanted_ to, not because it was required of him to do so. 

She smiled, so brightly then, mumbling something but he couldn't make it out. And then she tilted her head, moving closer still, and he surged through the rapidly narrowing distance between them and met her lips with his own. He could have sworn she glowed with something other than ethereal beauty, and the firelight beside them, but he was heavily distracted, too lost in her, too overwhelmed with how it felt to finally, _finally_ give in and succumb to the feelings swirling in his chest.

Freedom had never tasted sweeter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Warning for a very long author's note ahead aha.
> 
> I had a lot of fun working on Sometimes Things Will Get Worse Before They Get Better. It all came to me in a series of hectic midnight to 2:30am writing sessions over my winter holidays, and it served as a great distractor whilst the pandemic outside ran rampant. I hope you're all doing okay. 
> 
> Thank you all _so much_ for all the hits, your kudos and especially all the lovely comments, I appreciate them all! 
> 
> And fear not, for it is not the end of the road for these two. I do have a definite planned epilogue in the works, which will take place post-calamity and will be very angsty, (think memory loss Link remembering everything that has happened whelp). However, this will take some time to come out seeing as I am now in the middle of several assignments which are all due soon. 
> 
> As a thank you for all your support- what I'd like to offer you guys is a choice of epilogue around the above: would you like pre-calamity fluff, which will take place in the immediate aftermath of this chapter, where you guys pick where they should go next, and Link may have mentioned the Goron Hot Springs... Cough, of course Zelda will go with, cough. And some... fun (nothing too explicit) times will ensue.
> 
> Alternatively, you can opt for post-calamity fluff once we have the angsty chapter first- something along the lines of what happens post-rescuing Zelda. 
> 
> So let me know in the comments which fluffy chapter you want!
> 
> There is the option of both, (I’d rather you pick both tbh so I can write more of these two haha) I can 100% do that although it will take longer still because ah whilst I wish to surrender my brain to my two zelink cells I do still have to pass this year lol.
> 
> If both gets votes I may split this into a series...


	15. Author's Note!

Just a quick note to let you guys know I'm starting to write an AU version of what happens in this fic from Chapter 7 onwards- you can find it here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316255/chapters/71996766 

This will be darker, more angsty and considerably more sad so bear that in mind before reading haha. 

And I'll be deleting this chapter by tomorrow (sorry for those who were expecting the epilogues, I'm working on those and they'll be out soon hopefully!)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading- any feedback is appreciated!


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